County Leader Proposes Raising Impact Fees On Developers To Help Better Fund Projects

HARFORD COUNTY, MD — County Executive Bob Cassilly has sent proposed legislation to the County Council that would increase the county’s existing impact fees enforced on developers of new homes.

Revenue from impact fees is used to help expand public school capacity. Harford’s current impact fees are unchanged from 2005. However, there's been a nearly 300% increase in the cost of school construction during that same period, the county stated.

Last year, Harford County’s existing impact fees generated $2.7 million while the actual cost of school capacity projects that year was $6.8 million. The difference of $4 million was funded by general county revenue, which comes from taxpayers.

A consultant, TischlerBise, studied the cost of expanding school capacity to serve the student yield expected from different types of residential housing and made recommendations based on that data. Specifically, the report recommended raising the fees paid by developers of singlefamily homes, townhouses, apartments and other multi-family homes, and mobile homes. The TischlerBise report is available online at https://www.harfordcountymd.gov/DocumentCenter/View/26695/Harford-County-SchoolImpact-Fee-Study-91024.