Impact Fees Threaten Our ‘American Dream’

I am writing as a father, citizen, voter, builder and developer. We all agree that something needs to be done in order to finance our infrastructure needs. Whether we are replacing inadequate and insufficient infrastructure (i.e. utilities and roads) or adding new infrastructure, we must not put the burden solely on the homeowner.

Recently, I spoke with a client who is retired. She said after 40 years she just cannot take care of her house anymore. A smaller home downtown that is handicap accessible would better suit her needs than the current situation. It’s about to be built and has just the right size front yard to have her flowers. However, she has been told that she will have to pay an additional $5,100 plus permits to buy it in Bentonville.

All of her life the client has paid her taxes and now she may not be able to live in her hometown.

“I have raised three generations in this town!” She said. “Didn’t I pay enough taxes, and why must I pay more to buy my last home?”

What about our sons and daughters who are seniors at the University of Arkansas or in high school? In less than a year, they will be out on their own. All their life we have told them to live the American Dream: “Go to college, get a good paying job, marry and have a family and own your own home.”

Now we tell them, “Own your own home, but in order to do so you will have to pay an initial $5,100 plus permits to buy your first home.”

After our children have started their own families and need to move for more space, they’ll have to pay that fee again and get additional permits if they want to stay in their own city.

Then when its time to retire and they need to build a smaller home, they’ll get hit with the same fees again to stay here.

How many of our children will be able to afford to pay $15,300, plus permit costs, property taxes, sales taxes, fuel taxes, etc. to live in their hometown.

These scenarios are true for everyone. I have lived in Bentonville most of my life. I see many of my friends with their children and I find it refreshing that Bentonville’s children are staying in our hometown and living the American dream. My point is, developers and newcomers are not the cause of this growth. We all are.

Before you are firmly for impact fees, please consider the following: Since 1992, donated assets by developers, businesses and citizens are well more than $30 million dollars worth of infrastructure, land, and parks. Developers pay for nearly all of the streets, water lines, drainage structures, sewer lines, sidewalks, fire hydrants, etc., that are within their projects. After your subdivision is developed, it is then given to the city to earn revenues from the utilities and from your tax dollars. (Occasionally the city will agree to participate in offsite work).

So, when it’s said that developers need to pay their fair share, you can say that they and the home buyers already have, since all of that cost is built into the price of homes and commercial buildings.

The amount of money that we will need to upgrade, replace or add to our city infrastructures during the next 20 years is minor in comparison to the impact that will be placed on the taxpayers. There are certainly other solutions.

Impact fees, or capacity fees, are nothing but taxes. Citizens seeking the “American Dream” will be the only ones to pay that tax.

This substantial of a tax should be a vote of all citizens and should include each taxpayer, not just one specific class or group.

We all see the growth within our hometown and the surrounding area and measures to deal with it should be taken.

But we should be asking every citizen in Bentonville for their vote before the only impact we make is impeding our “American dream.”

William P. Burckart is president and owner of Burckart Construction Inc. in Bentonville and the immediate past president of the Northwest Arkansas Homebuilders Association.