Meeker wants higher impact fees

Mayor Charles Meeker said today that raising impact fees and improving water conservation and bus service will be top priorities during his fourth term in office.

At a press conference in his City Hall office, Meeker said he wants to more than double the impact fees Raleigh imposes on new housing. The charge would rise from $1,200 to $2,500 for a house that is between 2,500 and 2,700 square feet. The fees would vary depending on the size of a home, with larger homes paying more.

Impact fees are what the city charges developers to pay for new roads and parks. Meeker said his proposed increase would raise an additional $8 to $10 million a year.

"Our fees have been very low," said Meeker, who wants the new fee structure to be included in next year's budget.

The City Council increased impact fees 72 percent in 2006, but Meeker and council members Russ Stephenson and Thomas Crowder wanted a much larger increase.

Meeker's plan will likely receive wide support from the new City Council, which will be sworn in on Tuesday. Newcomers Rodger Koopman and Nancy McFarlane both campaigned as strong Meeker allies. The third new member, Mary-Ann Baldwin, attended Meeker's press conference and expressed support for his proposal.

Responding to concerns about the city's water supply, Meeker said the current drought has shown that Raleigh needs to make changes to its water conservation policies. Once the current drought has eased, the mayor wants the city to put in place more aggressive year-round, mandatory conservation measures.

The City Council adopted new year-round restrictions in May, but they are not conservation measures. They are designed to reduce peak demand and keep the system from exceeding its capacity on hot days.

The mayor also wants the city to adopt a variable rate structure that would mean customers pay more the more water they use.

"This will put the economic incentive where it ought to be," Meeker said.

Meeker said his third priority will be to improve bus service in Raleigh. He'd like buses to run more frequently within the city and favors more options for people commuting from Raleigh to Durham, Chapel Hill and other surrounding areas.

Bus service in Raleigh became an issue this summer because of the lack of shelters and benches. Several shopping centers in the city had also stopped allowing buses on their property.

Raleigh spends about $7 million annually to support its bus system. Meeker said he would consider raising property taxes by a half-cent per $100 valuation to pay for additional investments.

Council member Philip Isley said he's wary of investing in a system that already loses money.

"I think we need to be careful about increasing transit opportunities with no chance of recouping those costs," Isley said.