Moratorium to be placed on impact fees

The City of Madison Commissioners decided with a 4-1 vote to put a one-year moratorium on water and wastewater impact fees at the monthly meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 10 at 5:30 p.m. Commissioner Rayne Cooks was the opposing commissioner in the vote. She wanted to repeal impact fees instead of the moratorium. The decision will not be finalized until after two public readings of the ordinance. The commissioners will have a special meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 17 at 5:30 p.m. The City had a moratorium on impact fees but it was lifted at the July 8, 2014 meeting. Impact fees are a one-time charge for new connections to the water or wastewater system. The issue of the impact fees was brought up due to the new sewer line that is being placed on Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive. Citizens in that area state that they were promised the ability to connect to the city’s sewer system when there was a moratorium on impact fees and do not feel that just as the promise is about to be fulfilled that they should have to pay the fee.