PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WJHG/WECP) – The Transportation Impact Fee has been an ongoing debate for Panama City commissioners.
As Panama City continues to grow, commissioners are revisiting the idea of a transportation impact fee — a move aimed at easing the burden on taxpayers. Currently, residents fund all new developments through their tax dollars. The proposed tax would require developers to help cover infrastructure costs like roads and sidewalks.
While this concept may be new to Panama City, similar fees are common in larger cities. Officials are in discussions with contractors to find a fair solution for both residents and developers.
“Nobody wants to kill growth,” said Panama City Commissioner of Ward 3 Brian Grainger. “But at the same time, growth is causing this problem. So when people complain about the roads because they are just chalked full of people, because people complain about that,t and growth adds to that,” he continues. “And this is a way for growth to help pay for the added growth on the road. But at the same time, we don’t want to injure anybody’s business.”
With the commissioner set to have new members joining following the election, city leaders agreed to delay the vote to ensure everyone is fully informed. A public workshop with developers and commissioners is scheduled for June, and the TIF is expected to return to the agenda at the first commission meeting in July.
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