(7/15) July’s Town Council meeting saw Commissioner Amy Pollitt, Commissioner Jim Hoover and Commissioner Tim O'Donnell discussing Impact fees, and water and sewer service and connection fees. Because Commissioner Valerie Turnquist and Commissioner Cliff Sweeney were absent from the meeting no decisions would be made, only discussion.

Impact fees are charged to new developments to help pay for the construction of off-site capital improvements that are needed by the new development. Water and Sewer service and connection fees connect a customer to the nearest water or sewer line and are designed to recover all or a portion of the materials and labor cost.

Emmitsburg's fees have not been raised in 15 years and the last time they were discussed was June 2021 and no final decision was made. Currently the water service and connection fees are $8,200 per residential unit and the sewer connection fees are $8,000 per residential unit. Impact fees are $1,200 per unit and all impact fees go to General Fund Capital Improvement Program for improvements.

According to Town Manager Cathy Willets, $200 from each impact fee goes toward the purchase, installation and upgrade of the local emergency warning system. Otherwise impact fees can only be used for the acquisition, development and rehabilitation of municipal roads, sidewalks, streetlights and corresponding electric service for parks and recreation areas.

She explained that Emmitsburg water fees are slightly higher than Thurmont's; $8,200 versus $7,555. Sewer fees are comparable to neighboring municipalities except for Smithsburg who charges $10,200; $2,200 more than Emmitsburg.

In June 2021, The Town did a survey about the impact fees to see how much it was recommended to raise their fees. The survey concluded that the fees should be increased from $1,200 to $3,898 per each single-family dwelling and $2,069 per multi family unit. However, nothing was changed at the time.

Hoover said he believed the impact fees should be left alone until a" tried and true honest answer" was discovered. "What does it cost us versus what does it cost someone else," he asked. He pointed out the Emmittsburg is not comparable to surrounding municipalities like Thurmont and Taneytown. Despite these other Towns being larger they don’t have the fire academy or the Daughters of Charity drawing on the water reserves.

Hoover also stated, "I don’t want us to be the town that is subsidizing development, we need development especially commercial, but it can't be at the expense of the existing residents. We need to increase capacity not just cover utilities."

O'Donnell agreed with Hoover, pointing out the current fees are adequate for today's needs but needed to be raised to address the future needs of the Town.

Willets explained that staff has been working with Arro Consulting and Maryland Rural Water Association to get their opinions on the Town’s rates and if they should increase the fees. They are also planning a workshop meeting to discuss the fees when the other Commissioners are in attendance.