Why charge impact fees?

Impact fees help solve the question of fairness and equity between old owners and newcomers. Newcomers pay for most of their own impact. Current residents’ investment in infrastructure is protected.

 

Without impact fees, current residences and businesses would pay for the impact on city infrastructure consumed by newly constructed residences or businesses. Impact fees offset most of the cost of those needs.

City of Carey property taxes are so low they barely cover the operating cost of fire and police, leaving no funding for new infrastructure.
Carey is growing 3-5% each year, which means the city must keep adding capacity to its systems in order to maintain the current standard of living in the community without greatly increasing property taxes. Also, by state law, property tax rates are basically frozen at current levels plus inflation.

Without impact fees, parks and street system capacity would be quickly overrun.