City of Oak Creek

Common Council Report

 

Meeting Date:  03/18/08

 

Item No.:         

 

Recommendation:  That the Council authorizes the City Administrator to enter into an agreement with Ruekert-Mielke, Inc. to assist with updating the City’s impact fees for a sum not to exceed $20,000 and funding for the project taken from the General Government Outside Legal Services Account # 40525.

 

Background:  In 1996 and 2001, the Common Council adopted ordinances that created impact fees for neighborhood and community parks, fire facilities, library facilities, police facilities and a parks administration and maintenance facility.

 

The ordinances imposed impact fees, in order to regulate the effect of new development on public facilities, and to finance public facilities, the demand for which is generated by new development or any improvements made to existing development in designated development areas.

 

The engineering firm of Ruekert-Mielke, Inc. performed the needs assessments for the present impact fees.

 

The current impact fees have not been evaluated and revised since 2001.  In 2006 and 2007, the Wisconsin Impact Fee statute was amended through Act 203, Act 477 and Act 44.

 

Since it has been several years since the City adopted the impact fees and given the recent changes in the impact fee statute, it would be a good time to revisit the City’s impact fees. The update includes:

 1) Amending the City’s impact fee ordinance to be consistent with the current impact fee law, Wisconsin Statutes 66.0617.

 2) The ordinance could be amended to include an annual inflation increase in the amount of the fees.

 3) Revision of the City’s public facilities needs assessments and required changes for the City’s ordinance.

 4) Prepare guidelines for the City regarding deadlines for expending impact fees and/or refunding fees not expended.

 

Ruekert-Mielke’s proposal to assist the City with updating the impact fees is enclosed.

 

Fiscal Impact:  Funding for this project is available in the General Government Outside Legal Services Account # 40525.

 

Prepared by:

 

 

Douglas A. Schachtner

Director of Parks, Recreation & Forestry

Respectfully submitted,

 

 

Patrick DeGrave

City Administrator

 

 

 

 

Fiscal Review by:

 

 

Beverly A. Buretta, CMC

City Clerk