By Colby Dunn
News Writer

The Madison City Council discussed the impact of their recently imposed impact fees at a work session on Monday, Feb. 1, as they hashed out how to grant exemptions to the fees.

Bill Ross, an impact fee expert who guided the city through the process initially, was on hand to help identify just what was extraordinary enough to get a pass on the sometimes-hefty fees designed to offset the cost of providing services over a 20-year period.

"The underlying issue is, of course, a policy issue, not so much what it's going to cost," he said. "There's no math that's going to tell us the answer."

Ross counseled the council that the burden should cil that the burden should fall to the applicant to show that their positive economic impact on the community would be so unique and so immense that it trumped the need to offset service costs. He gave Troup County's massive new Kia plant as an example deserving an exemption, while a dime-a-dozen business like a fast food restaurant wouldn't be as compelling.

The issue arose because of an exemption request tendered by Morgan Memorial Hospital for their ER revamp, and though it was later revoked by hospital CEO OJ Booker, the possibility of an exemption request on the new $35 million hospital still looms.

City manager David Nunn told the council he was thankful for their caution in the as-yet uncharted waters of fee waivers.
"I appreciate that the council is being so careful, because in 10 years, 20 years these decisions won't be nearly as difficult," he said.

Under the current policy, exemptions are allowed for "extraordinary" circumstances, but what defines extraordinary is left to the council's discretion. If an exemption is granted, the fee will still be paid, but will come from the city's general fund.