JOHN COFFELTEditor

The Manchester Board of Mayor and Alderman is considering implementing a new impact fee in an effort to help pay for much needed resources such as schools and sewer services.

Vice Mayor Mark Messick said during the Aug. 28 Manchester City Finance Committee meeting that the “city is running out of financing options.”

“We can’t borrow any more money unless we raise taxes, and we don’t want to raise taxes,” Messick said. “What I suggest is to impose an impact fee, and spend all of that towards building new schools.”

The City of Manchester continues to see new growth, and the increase in population has created

strains on the local government to provide resources and amenities.

According to city officials, a so-called impact fee, if implemented, would provide a revenue stream that would expand the city’s bond capabilities and allow the city to address capital projects and infrastructure improvements

Messick’s information concerning the city’s ability to borrow money comes from a February work session when the city’s financial consultant, Cumberland Securities Company Vice President Scott Gibson, said the city has strong AA credit, based on a strong budgetary performance, strong reserves and manageable debt burden. But he added that without a new funding source the city couldn’t borrow any more money until the bonds were paid off over the next decades.

No firm measures were taken during the Aug.28 meeting, other than to direct the city’s Finance Director Lisa Myers to coordinate with Community Development and Zoning Director Brittany Fiske to return with a look at how many homes are built annually and what other municipalities have as impact fees.

A preliminary outline was that the impact fee could raise one-half a million dollars annually if assessed at $2 per square foot on new construction projects in the city.

“If we could raise $5 million, $7-8 million or $10 million in four or five years, we could match that and have some money to build (seven to eight classrooms and a cafeteria at Westwood Middle School),” Messick said.

Alderman Joey Hobbs said in his experience as a homebuilder, the fee would not slow the rate of growth in the city because it’s an expense passed along to the purchaser.

Messick cautioned that due to state law, the proposed fee could not be a true impact fee, rather would be a school maintenance fee or something similar.

“There is an impact to building a house,” Hobbs said. “It does affect water, sewer, police, schools. I think it’s a good discussion to have.”

Mayor Marilyn Howard suggested that the fee not be applied retroactively to current projects that already have building permits.

Howard said that some developments have been approved but have been sitting for four years.

The matter will be readdressed at September Finance meeting.

John has been with the Manchester Times since May 2011. John has won Tennessee Press Association awards for Best News Photo and placed in numerous other categories. John is a 1994 graduate of Tullahoma High School, a graduate of Motlow State Community College and earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from Middle Tennessee State University. He lives in Tullahoma, enjoys painting, dancing and exploring the outdoors.