Have you notices that municipalities do so, so well when growth is rampant?
But when it slows down, taxes and fees get hiked.
If you need a recent example, think of Crystal Lake’s hiking water and sewer rates for the second time
IlliniPundit posted a story about developer impact fees. It certainly doesn’t say growth pays its own way.
The City of Champaign released their draft Cost of Land Uses Fiscal Impact Analysis, and held a public meeting on it…:
The study found that among six types of residential development, only high-priced single-family detached homes in the $400,000 to $600,000 range, such as Trails at Brittany and Chestnut Grove subdivisions, and downtown apartments, like at One Main, generated income surpluses for the city, primarily due to their higher taxable values.
High-priced single-family homes generated a surplus of $813 per house for the city and downtown apartments generated a surplus of $325 per unit.
Other types of housing were net money losers, including medium-priced single family homes, like in Sawgrass and Boulder Ridge subdivisions (a loss of $888 per unit); low-priced single family homes, like in Ashland Park (an average $641 per unit loss); apartments on the city fringe (an average loss of $764 per unit) and attached housing units, such as townhomes, duplexes and triplexes (an average loss of $334 per unit), the study said.
And this:
Among nonresidential developments, big box retail generates a $6,245 surplus for the city per 1,000 square feet of space, and neighborhood retail generates $4,639 per 1,000 square feet. Sales taxes generated by retail sales accounts for the surpluses.
But the city loses an average of $314 per 1,000 square feet of office space, loses $63 per 1,000 square feet of industrial use and loses $51 per 1,000 square feet for health care clinics.
So, growth in Barrington Hills, Lakewood and Bull Valley pays its own way, but affordable homes don’t.
The rest of us have to subsidize the developers, who “help” us subsidize them by contributing campaign cash to school tax hike committees.