Why is the State Delegation Kicking the Can down the Road?

At its January 23rd meeting, the Howard County Delegation formed an Impact Fee Work group.

A work group in and of itself is not a problem. The question is, why was this work group not formed in January of 2018 when the first impact fee legislation was proposed?

So far, some on the State Delegation have:

• Conflated the developer profit subsidy with school redistricting to distract from the need to raise impact fees to $8 per square foot,
• Made calls to raise transfer taxes to punish residents and taxpayers rather than hold developers accountable,
• Made incorrect claims about the effect impact fees have on home prices using archaic and dogmatic models of economics,
• Attempted to use affordable housing as a wedge issue to prevent raising impact fees, and
• Now, finally- this work group, which could potentially drag the issue another year only to propose token increases to the fees.

This is unacceptable. The quality of our schools and our life are on the line.

Let’s continue to push for action. Raise the fees to $8 per square foot and give the county local control.