How Does Development Impact City Services?
One of the common questions we hear is regarding the cost of development on City services and the concern that new housing development could increase the cost to current residents. This blog post aims to cover how the County and City ensure new development contributes to the impacts it creates.
The City splits service provision with the County. In some cases, we receive money from the County to provide these services through an agreement with the County called tax duplication. This agreement provides funding for:
- Police
- Roadway Maintenance and Improvement
- Parks
Changes to the number of residents, service calls, roadways, and other items would necessitate greater funding from the County as the agreement is meant to provide a balance and ensure that where County Services end, City Services are able to address the need (roads, police, etc.). This agreement is negotiated between the City and the County and is approved by the City Council. The last agreement was approved in 2021 and will run until renegotiated. .
The City also collects additional fees for properties related to specific services. These fees are intended to cover a portion or all of the cost of the service provided. These fees include:
- Trash Collection Fees for properties with more than 1 unit if the property has their trash and recycling collected by the City (in most cases, large multifamily buildings pay a private firm to collect trash and recycling);
- A Rental Licensing Fee for every rental unit in the City to cover the cost of inspection and contribute towards the cost of the administration of housing programs (like Rent Stabilization Reporting, Landlord-Tenant work, and licensing administration).
- The Stormwater Management Fee, which assesses a fee to ensure the City’s stormwater management infrastructure is maintained and sufficient.
- Registration Fees for City classes or programs offered through the City’s Recreation Department
These fees are assessed independently of a property tax bill and specifically aim to fund partially or in full the services associated with the fee.
As noted in a previous blog post, proposed development goes through a lengthy review of potential impacts, including roadways, parks, and other ‘public facilities’. Each review is specific to the proposed development but the review aims to ensure that the development provides a public benefit of equal value to the cost it will incur on public services.
So would new residents have to be subsidized by existing residents?
Not necessarily! In some cases, the City would be able to receive additional funding for services we provide from the County through our Tax Duplication Agreement. In other instances, we would receive additional income from the fees we charge (Stormwater, Rental Licensing, Class Registration Fees, etc.). In cases where the development would require additional infrastructure (such as sidewalks, traffic lights, park space), they would be obligated to construct or pay for those improvements (or provide the City and County with something of equal value to offset).
The goal of these fees, tax duplication agreement, and development review process is to ensure that residents continue to pay a similar rate for the services they receive.
