Higher developer fees seen as a way to pay for roadways.
In an evening work session Wednesday, the Columbia City Council discussed tax proposals that will largely decide who will pay for growth for the next decade. Among the funding options the council considered introducing to voters in coming weeks was a five-fold increase in the fees developers pay on new construction.
The council considered several ways to pay for more than $140 million in estimated roads, public safety and parks projects over the next 10 years. There will be meetings this summer to solicit public comments and finalize plans for a November ballot issue.
To fund a list of road projects that totals more than $70 million, the council showed increased interest in raising the development fee over several years. The council discussed a proposal that would incrementally raise the fee from the current rate of 10 cents per square foot of new development to 50 cents by 2010.
The council also debated a separate excise tax that would be based on the number of car trips generated by new development rather than the amount of square footage. Several council members expressed concern that they would not have time to study an excise tax and educate voters before November.
“The development fee accomplishes the goal of raising money by putting the cost on the new development,” said Second Ward Councilman Chris Janku.
“It reaches the new development, and it’s an established thing we’re doing in Columbia right now,” he said, referring to the existing 10 cent development fee. As proposed, financing for the road projects would also include extending the existing quarter-cent capital improvement sales tax that is set to expire at the end of the year and supplementing it with an additional eighth-cent sales tax dedicated to roads. Seventy percent of the existing quarter-cent sales tax would go toward road projects, and the other 30 percent would finance public safety initiatives such as fire engine replacement.
In a 2003 survey of Columbia households conducted by ETC Institute, 62 percent of city residents said they would be very likely or somewhat likely to vote for both sales taxes. The Columbia Chamber of Commerce and Board of Realtors also issued statements earlier this week supporting an increase in the sales tax to fund road projects.
If approved, the sales and development taxes would be combined with existing revenue to fund 18 proposed road projects in Columbia. Priorities are Brown School Road from Missouri 763 to Providence, an interchange at Gans Road and U.S. 63 and Providence Road from Vandiver Drive to Blue Ridge Road.
In addition to the proposed roads taxes, the council considered a possible five- or 10-year extension of the existing eighth-cent sales tax for parks and recreation.
“We need to continue the parks sales tax to keep at least a basic level of funding to continue our projects,” City Manager Ray Beck said.
The sales tax would fund annual operating costs of city parks and the acquisition or expansion of several parks. Though the list is still tentative, possibilities include additions to Cosmo-Bethel Park, Douglass Park, Fairvew Park, restrooms on the MKT Trail and improvements to Oakland pool.
The council will continue to discuss funding options in several open meetings this summer. The next regular city council meeting is Monday.