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Record of Proceedings

Hillsborough County BOCC Workshop on Extraordinary Circumstances for South-Central Impact Fees - December 10, 2025

Hillsborough County Archive View Page — Wednesday, December 10, 2025
BodyHillsborough County, Florida
SessionHillsborough County Archive View Page
DateWednesday, December 10, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 41:58

Transcript — Verbatim
0:07

If IT is good with me moving on to the water and wastewater impact fees public workshop number two, I will do so.

0:14

Yes, ma'am.

0:15

All right.

0:15

Good afternoon.

0:17

Um, welcome back.

0:18

And um, there will be no action or vote taken by the board today.

0:22

And with that, I'm going to turn it over to you, Mr.

0:24

Cassidy.

0:25

Uh thank you, Madam Chair.

0:26

Good afternoon, commissioners.

0:28

This is the second of two workshops, the proposed increases to the water and wastewater impact fees.

0:33

Uh, the workshop today is dedicated to the extraordinary circumstances necessitating the need to exceed the phase in limitations for the South Central Service Area.

0:42

Uh, today giving our presentation is going to be Lisa Ray, our water resources department director, along with our impact fee consultant, uh Justin Grant with Stantec.

0:51

They will make a brief presentation and then we will follow up with the board discussion.

0:55

Lisa.

0:57

Thank you, Commissioner.

0:58

Uh Lisa Ray, Director of Water Resources.

1:02

Uh, we appreciate you taking the time to be with us today.

1:05

So, HTV is going to be doing our presentation for us.

1:10

So, I'll be asking them to move on to the next slide, please.

1:18

So, we are here to talk about impact fees, but just as a high level, what are they?

1:23

And they're a one-time fee paid to connect new customers or construction to help cover the costs of expanding the water and the wastewater service to those new customers.

1:36

In a sense, it's so that growth pays for itself.

1:40

Next slide, please.

1:44

A quick overview of the system that we currently manage.

1:48

Hillsborough County Water Resources has two very separate utility systems.

1:53

Up in the Northwest area, we have a water and wastewater system that is pretty well developed.

2:00

Uh, does not have a tremendous amount of growth, and the plants have sufficient capacity to handle the projected growth.

2:08

However, in the South Central area, we're dealing with a very different circumstance.

2:13

The amount of growth that we have seen in the South Central area has been extraordinary.

2:18

And we are having to add significant number of projects and capacity in order to accommodate the needed services for the new residents.

2:27

Next slide, please.

2:32

And can you please hit forward twice?

2:38

So up in the Northwest, we're able to use the incremental phase-in approach as required under the Florida Impact Fee Law.

2:48

Since the water is less than 25%, and the wastewater increase is between 25 and 50.

2:55

However, in the South Central area, with the large projects and the tremendous amount of growth, we're needing to look at an increase that is greater than 50%.

3:04

Because of that, we are required to demonstrate a need for this additional increase.

3:10

That requires a study, along with two publicly noticed workshops.

3:14

And this is the second of those two workshops.

3:17

In the end, we will be taking the resolution to the board.

3:21

Um, however, at this time we're going to focus on what the needs are that are justifying the extraordinary circumstance.

3:29

And to help us with that, I am going to ask Justin to talk about the study that Stantech conducted.

3:35

So next slide, please.

3:40

Justin, if you would like to start as a part of this impact study, I was in that worst finding demonstrated need study was also completed that identified multiple extraordinary circumstances.

3:54

Can you guys hear me?

3:56

Um initially it was a little low, but it got better.

3:59

So you might want to hear me okay right now.

4:04

Yes.

4:05

All right, perfect.

4:06

All right, I'll restart that.

4:07

Thanks for the introduction, Lisa.

4:08

Appreciate that.

4:09

And yes, as you mentioned, this is the second of two hearings.

4:11

So uh commissioners, thank you very much for listening to the same presentation again today.

4:15

And for all of you others that are listening over the first time, we'll try and be brief and go through this.

4:20

So, as a part of the impact fees study that was conducted, a corresponding demonstrated needs study was also completed that identified multiple extraordinary circumstances that merit the condition of adjusting current fees beyond phase in limitations.

4:32

The fundamental revolve around three issues.

4:34

The county's nearing capacity of two wastewater treatment plants, and effectively is it at capacity of one of its water plants in the South Central service area during dry weather conditions.

4:44

Driven by historical growth rates that are expected to continue in the near term that are driving the need for additional facilities that provide capacity.

4:51

And finally, the cost and magnitude of these expenses, the nature of these facilities that are required is substantial.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Water And Wastewater Management█████████████████████████████████████████████72%
Procedural████████12%
Affordable Housing███████11%
Community Engagement███5%
Summary of Proceedings

Hillsborough County BOCC Workshop on Extraordinary Circumstances for South-Central Impact Fees - December 10, 2025

This was the second of two publicly noticed workshops dedicated to discussing the extraordinary circumstances that necessitate exceeding the phase-in limitations for water and wastewater impact fees in the South-Central Service Area. The workshop was held virtually on December 10, 2025, at 1:30 PM, immediately following the regularly scheduled BOCC workshop. No votes or formal actions were taken; the board heard a presentation from staff and consultants and engaged in discussion.

Presentation Highlights

  • Staff and Stantec Consulting presented a demonstrated-need study showing that the South-Central Service Area faces extraordinary circumstances: rapid population growth (57,000 new residents since 2020), near-capacity conditions at two wastewater plants and one water plant by 2028, and dramatic cost increases (over 300% for treatment plants and over 200% for pipelines since 2020).
  • The required capital improvement plan through FY 2031 includes nearly $2 billion in expansion projects, over 98% of which are in the South-Central area. This investment is 2.2 times the current book value of the entire utility.
  • Proposed impact fees would increase water fees by 111.6% (from $2,214 to $4,684 per ERC) and wastewater fees by 135.2% (from $3,651 to $8,586 per ERC), for a total of $13,270 per ERC (a 126.3% increase).
  • Failure to adopt the full increase would result in an estimated $20–$25 million annual revenue loss, totaling $200–$250 million over 10 years, potentially requiring additional borrowing and interest costs.

Board Discussion

  • Commissioner Cohen expressed concern that imposing the full increase all at once would add approximately $13,000 to the cost of a new home, exacerbating the homeownership crisis. He advocated for a phased-in approach similar to that proposed for the Northwest Service Area and noted the impending water shortage that could lead to mandatory conservation.
  • Commissioner Wastel (transcript also shows "Wussel") questioned the clarity of the financial model, requesting a simplified breakdown showing the number of new households expected to pay the fees and how the total revenue matches project costs. He noted that the study was finalized only eight days before the workshop, limiting public scrutiny. He stated he still supports full cost recovery but wants to see phased-in options and their impact on bonding. He also clarified that the fees would not be implemented until March 2026 (90 days post-adoption), not January 1.
  • Commissioner Miller asked about community engagement opportunities beyond the 10 AM public hearing, noting that the cost, even if passed to developers, ultimately affects homebuyers. She requested a balance between the need for revenue and affordability.
  • Staff (George Cassady) took notes and indicated they would circle back with suggestions based on the board's comments, including possible phased-in scenarios.

Key Outcomes

  • No formal vote or decision was made at this workshop.
  • The next step is a public hearing before the Board of County Commissioners on December 17, 2025, at 10 AM, where the board will consider adopting the impact fee rates.
  • Staff will provide the board with phased-in implementation options and additional clarity on the financial model before the public hearing.
  • The proposed effective date for the first year of the increase is March 2026 (90 days post-adoption), subject to board approval.

Meeting Transcript

If IT is good with me moving on to the water and wastewater impact fees public workshop number two, I will do so. Yes, ma'am. All right. Good afternoon. Um, welcome back. And um, there will be no action or vote taken by the board today. And with that, I'm going to turn it over to you, Mr. Cassidy. Uh thank you, Madam Chair. Good afternoon, commissioners. This is the second of two workshops, the proposed increases to the water and wastewater impact fees. Uh, the workshop today is dedicated to the extraordinary circumstances necessitating the need to exceed the phase in limitations for the South Central Service Area. Uh, today giving our presentation is going to be Lisa Ray, our water resources department director, along with our impact fee consultant, uh Justin Grant with Stantec. They will make a brief presentation and then we will follow up with the board discussion. Lisa. Thank you, Commissioner. Uh Lisa Ray, Director of Water Resources. Uh, we appreciate you taking the time to be with us today. So, HTV is going to be doing our presentation for us. So, I'll be asking them to move on to the next slide, please. So, we are here to talk about impact fees, but just as a high level, what are they? And they're a one-time fee paid to connect new customers or construction to help cover the costs of expanding the water and the wastewater service to those new customers. In a sense, it's so that growth pays for itself. Next slide, please. A quick overview of the system that we currently manage. Hillsborough County Water Resources has two very separate utility systems. Up in the Northwest area, we have a water and wastewater system that is pretty well developed. Uh, does not have a tremendous amount of growth, and the plants have sufficient capacity to handle the projected growth. However, in the South Central area, we're dealing with a very different circumstance. The amount of growth that we have seen in the South Central area has been extraordinary. And we are having to add significant number of projects and capacity in order to accommodate the needed services for the new residents. Next slide, please. And can you please hit forward twice? So up in the Northwest, we're able to use the incremental phase-in approach as required under the Florida Impact Fee Law. Since the water is less than 25%, and the wastewater increase is between 25 and 50. However, in the South Central area, with the large projects and the tremendous amount of growth, we're needing to look at an increase that is greater than 50%. Because of that, we are required to demonstrate a need for this additional increase. That requires a study, along with two publicly noticed workshops. And this is the second of those two workshops. In the end, we will be taking the resolution to the board. Um, however, at this time we're going to focus on what the needs are that are justifying the extraordinary circumstance. And to help us with that, I am going to ask Justin to talk about the study that Stantech conducted. So next slide, please. Justin, if you would like to start as a part of this impact study, I was in that worst finding demonstrated need study was also completed that identified multiple extraordinary circumstances. Can you guys hear me? Um initially it was a little low, but it got better. So you might want to hear me okay right now. Yes. All right, perfect. All right, I'll restart that.

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