The county's budget shortfall for roads is increasing, not decreasing, despite a recent gas tax renewal because the Metropolitan Planning Organization is beefing up the county's road-building plan. The county gasoline tax is 5 cents per gallon. We need the money now. The roads are lacking. But there's a limited number of funding options for road building.
Impact fees are one-time charges on new construction and help pay for services.
They can pay for new roads but can't be used to pay for backlogged projects. And the county is already charging the maximum on those fees. The only other option would be a property tax increase, Carter said. He said tourists would fork over about 30 percent of it, so residents wouldn't be overburdened as they would if property taxes were used. Still, Carr thinks county commissioners should make certain developers' coffers are fully tapped before asking taxpayers to shell out more bucks.