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March
15, 2005 |
1500+ voters of Rutherford
county signed the RNA Petition encouraging State Legislative
delegation to support a private Act for Rutherford County. Copies
were presented to each of our lagislators.
PETITION
We, the undersigned, urge the Tennessee State Legislature
to approve the Rutherford County Commission's resolution for
an Adequate Facilities Tax on new construction. Currently, Property
Taxes and Wheel Taxes are the
major sources of county revenue. The growth in Rutherford County
will require more than $500,000,000 just for schools (DNJ 20Dec04)
over the next ten years. We don't want an increase in Property
Taxes and/or Wheel Taxes to be the only way to pay for growth.
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May
14, 2004
ACTION
ALERT!
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Questionnaire
responses now 2 to 1 in favor of taxes or fees on new development
over other alternate revenue sources.
Keep those responses
coming in. Call your commissioner and express the need to have
an Impact Fee that is proportional to growth and that will go
directly to funding the infrastructure needs created by growth.
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| Apr. 20, 2004 |
MEETING MINUTES
in .pdf format |
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| Apr. 16, 2004 |
MEETING
MINUTES in.pdf format |
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| Mar. 30, 2004 |
MEETING
MINUTES in .pdf format |
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| Mar. 9, 2004 |
FOURTH MEETING of TASK FORCE
-Members
Present: Jim Baker, Rebecca Climer, , Joyce Ealy,
David Gilliam, Denny Hastings, Bill Jones, Lisa Nolen, Jeff Phillips,
Steve Schroeder, Doug Shafer Absent:
Joe Jack Dement, Harry Gill,
Steve Sandlin,
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| Mar. 2, 2004 |
THIRD MEETING of TASK FORCE -Members
Present: Jim Baker, Rebecca Climer, Joe Jack
Dement, Joyce Ealy, David Gilliam, Denny Hastings, Bill Jones,
Lisa Nolen, Jeff Phillips, Steve Sandlin, Steve Schroeder, Doug
Shafer Absent:
Harry Gill
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| March
1, 2004 |
STEERING
COMMITTEE MEETING NOTES |
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Since there was no representative
from the County Technical Assistance Service present at the meeting
(as was directed by Steering Committee action at the February
meeting) to help the Steering Committee draft a resolution for
an Impact Fee, Steve Schroeder of the RNA was asked to talk about
impact fees.
Steve presented the study done
by the RNA which estimated the amount of revenue an impact fee
on single family homes would generate for the county.
The Steering Committee recessed
this meeting until Monday, March 8th at 7 pm in order to have
more time to get a resolution written for an Impact Fee that
can be brought before the full commission on March 11th.. The
committee passed a motion (4 to 3) made by Commissioner Peay
to have the county attorney work with CTAS (County Technical
Assistance Service), the chair of Steering, the County mayor
and any other interested commission members to write an Impact
Fee Resolution.
March 8th continuation - Josh
___, of the Legal Department came with an inadequate version
of an Impact Fee Resolution. All but one commissioner present
(Rick Sage was absent) voted not to sent it to the full commission
with the reasoning that the Task Force should be allowed to do
its job first. Only Commissioner voted for the resolution, recognizing
the fact that a no vote meant that there was no way for the county
to have this as a revenue option until May of 2005 because of
the State legislative requirements.
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| Feb. 24,
2004 |
Present: Jim Baker, Rebecca Climer, Joe Jack
Dement, Joyce Ealy, David Gilliam, Denny Hastings, Bill Jones,
Lisa Nolen, Jeff Phillips, Steve Sandlin, Steve Schroeder, Doug
Shafer Absent:
Harry Gill
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Research
Criteria for study established:
- Is the method feasible or "doable"?
Can it be implemented from a legislative standpoint? Has it been
done elsewhere, how has it worked? Would there be support for
this method?
- How much money would the method
generate? Annually, over 5 years, over 10 years?
- What is the possible impact
of this method? On specific groups of people: the poor, existing
homeowners, seniors, working poor, new homeowners, young couples,
others? What businesses would be affected?
- Is this tax fair and equitable
when considering other taxes currently in place?
- Is this a recurring or one-time
method of revenue?
- Would this create additional
government bureaucracy? If so, how much? Who would oversee and
collect it? Any additional staff needed?
Group Assignments
established:
- Group
One to report April
13 on Impact
Fee, Adequate Facilities Tax, Development Tax -
Steve Schroeder, Jim
Baker, Steve Sandlin
- Group
Two to report March
16 on Gasoline
Tax -Doug
Shafer, Joe Jack Dement
- Group
Three to report March
23 on Local
Realty Transfer Tax and Mortgage Tax -
Rebecca Climer, Lisa
Nolen, Bill Jones
- Group
Four to report March
30 on Business
Tax - Harry
Gill, Jeff Phillips
- Group
Five to report April
30 on "Other"
- Lisa
Nolen, Denny Hastings, Joyce Ealy, David Gilliam
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FEB.
19, 2004
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FIRST MEETING
of TASK FORCE - Members
Present: Jim Baker, Rebecca Climer, Joe Jack
Dement, Joyce Ealy, David Gilliam, Denny Hastings, Bill Jones,
Lisa Nolen, Jeff Phillips, Steve Schroeder, Doug Shafer Absent: Steve Sandlin, Harry Gill
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Chamber
of Commerce Bldg. - 501 Memorial Blvd., Murfreesboro |
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TN
Code Annotated 8-44-102. Open Meetings Act: the Task Force meetings are required
to be open to the public. |
| February
12, 2004 |
FIRST
STEP TOWARD FINDING ALTERNATIVES TO RAISING PROPERTY TAXES OR
CUTTING SERVICES IS ACCOMPLISHED!
The Rutherford County Commission
approved two tax resolutions to assure that they have an alternative
to raising property taxes.
One resolution for a Public Act
to allow a realty transfer tax will be sent to the State Legislature
even though the deadline for submission has passed. Sixteen commissioners
agreed that the request process should start now for the next
legislative session.
The second resolution is for
a replacement development tax that can be increased to a ceiling
of $2500 (the current development tax limit is $1500 per home
or dwelling unit), but that can also be lowered if need be. This
flexible development tax could prove useful should the County
RevenueTask Force recommend a combination of taxing alternatives
that does not require a $1500 Development Tax. Fifteen commissioners
recognized the value of having this taxing option available.
A 2/3rds vote was necessary to
pass each resolution.
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| Commissioners
voting against the Realty Transfer Tax: |
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Rodgers, Carol Cook, Dwight Throneberry
and Allen McAdoo |
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| Commissioners
voting against the variable rate Development Tax: |
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Rodgers, Cook, Throneberry, McAdoo and
Paul Johnson |
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Commissioner
Tina Jones was not present. |
FEBRUARY
2, 2004 - County Steering
Committee : ALTERNATE
REVENUE SOURCES TASK FORCE MEMBERS ARE NAMED by
Steve Benefield, President, Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce.
Representing
Government:
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1)
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Jeff
Phillips: Chair, Rutherford County Steering Committee (District
17) |
2)
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Doug
Shafer: Co-Chair, Rutherford County Steering Committee (District
1) |
3)
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Joyce
Ealy: Chair, Rutherford County Budget/Finance Committee (District
19) |
4)
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Steve
Sandlin: Co-Chair, Rutherford County Budget/Finance Committee
(District 9) |
5)
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Harry Gill: Director,
Rutherford County Schools |
6)
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Lisa Nolan, Rutherford County Finance Director |
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Representing
Business: |
1)
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Denny
Hastings: Rutherford County Home Builders Association |
2)
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David
Gilliam: Middle TN Association of Realtors |
3)
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Joe
Jack Dement: Rutherford County Farm Bureau (Benefield said that he was recommended
by the realtors and builders) |
4)
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Bill
Jones: Destination Ruitherford |
5)
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Rebecca
Climer: Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce |
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Representing
the Senior Citizens of Rutherford County: |
1)
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Jim
Baker: Industrial Development Board |
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Representing
the citizens of Rutherford County: |
1)
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Steve
Schroeder: Rutherford Neighborhood Alliance |
JANUARY 5,
2004 - COUNTY STEERING
COMMITTEE HEARS PRESENTATION OF MTSU Business & Education
Research Center (BERC) STUDY ON ALTERNATE SOURCES OF REVENUE
for RUTHERFORD COUNTY. (Click
to view this study in .pdf format)
STEERING COMMITTEE calls for
a 13 member citizen/government/business taskforce to discuss
Alternate Revenue Sources.
NOVEMBER 6,
2003 - JOINT STEERING
COMMITTEE/BUDGET
Consultant: Impact fees 'one-time'
growth charge
By Byron Hensley / Staff Reporter
of the Daily News Journal / Monday, Nov. 10, 2003
Impact fees are a "one-time,
up-front charge" used to pay for capital facilities necessitated
by new development, a consultant told Rutherford County Commission's
Steering and Budget committees.
Communities across the country facing rapid growth typically
have trouble keeping up with roads and schools, said Jim Duncan
of Duncan & Associates, an Austin, Texas-based consulting
firm specializing in impact fee and smart growth studies for
states and communities.
"Rapid growth equals crowded highways, schools and inadequate
funding," he told commissioners in a packed Rutherford County
Courthouse last Thursday night.
"An impact fee is a regulatory fee, not a tax," he
said. "It's a one-time, up-front charge at the time the
development is done."
Impact fees are used to pay for capital facilities costs only
and may not be used for operating expenditures, Duncan said.
They are levied on new development only and residents of existing
structures do not pay them, he said. They are based on a predetermined
formula used to estimate the need for new capital facilities
a new structure will create. They can be used for construction
or expansion of off-site facilities and are charged when a developer
applies for a plat or building permit.
Among the things that impact fees are not, he said, is a deterrent
to affordable housing.
"Their whole purpose is to increase the supplies of available
infrastructure," he said. "If you don't have water
or sewer lines or roads, you're not going to build."
Nor are they necessarily an economic development deterrent, because
companies looking for areas to locate consider the availability
of adequate schools, roads and other facilities, which impact
fees help to fund, he said.
To charge an impact fee on a particular development, a community
must use a "rational nexus test" to show the development
creates a need for new facilities, and must receive benefit from
them, Duncan said. The community must also have legal authority
to charge the fee, which in Tennessee requires a private act
of the state Legislature.
County officials called the presentation informative but said
more information will be needed to determine just how impact
fees may benefit the county.
"I think we got a lot of good information, and I think there
are opportunities we may have that I didn't know we had,"
said County Commissioner Jeff Phillips, steering committee chairman.
As county officials move toward a decision on impact fees, the
information will be used in context with a study on alternative
revenue sources being prepared by MTSU, along with discussions
with members of the development community and residents promoting
the impact fee, he said.
"This is not something we need to move quickly on, but it
is something we need to move on," Phillips said. "We
need to listen to groups that may be affected positively or negatively
and see if there are other ideas that may be beneficial to the
community. We need to get busy, but we don't need to rush on
this. We need to understand just what we're getting into."
Impact fees can be done with a great deal of flexibility, Duncan
told commissioners. For example, they can be set up to exempt
or target specific areas or specific components of public service.
They should be reviewed and updated on a regular basis, he said.
Duncan presented "The Ten Commandments of Impact Fees,"
including promoting smart growth policies, involving local stake
holders such as home builders and developers as well as owners
of existing structures, using them only for capacity increase
and capital needs, allowing independent fee studies, establishing
a rational nexus test, and using appropriate methods for determining
the fees.
Among the "shall nots," he said, communities cannot
use them to correct the "sins of the past," using them
to "catch up" with existing financial needs and cannot
"double-dip," such as charge impact fees along with
other types of charges to pay for the same needs.
Impact fees must be used in the areas where they are collected,
and must be used within a specific amount of time, typically
seven years, Duncan said.
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