By: Libi Uremovic| Original Article at Patch.com
Mitigation Fees are calculated by the total amount of funds needed divided by the amount of contributors; whether the contributors are developers or taxpayers. It never made sense that the mitigation fees for fire stations would be equivalent to traffic signals or railroad crossings.
In reviewing the City’s past records it appears that, for some reason that only Staff could explain; the Fire Station Mitigation Fees were always a scam.
On July 6, 1999 Beaumont City Council Approved Ordinance No. 794 establishing Traffic Signal and Railroad Crossing Mitigation Fees.
The following fees were listed in the Ordinance:
Traffic Signal Mitigation Fee: $176 per EDU
Railroad Crossing Mitigation Fee: $199 per EDU
Section 8: Use of Traffic Signal and Railroad Crossing Mitigation Fees:
“A special Traffic Signal Mitigation Fee Account and a special Railroad Crossing Mitigation Fee Account are hereby established and all fees collected pursuant to Sections 4 and 5 above shall be deposited therein. Such fees shall be expended therefrom solely for the purchase and installation, as applicable, of traffic signals and railroad signals including crossing gates and other protective devices, and all costs associated with railroad crossing protection including, but not limited to, planking, sidewalks, curbs, and gutters and grade separation.”
Beaumont Finance Director, William Aylward, was required by State Law to establish separate Bank Accounts for each Mitigation Fee collected, but it never happened. All the Mitigation Fees collected went into the General Fund.
The Report prepared for Council only referenced traffic signal and railroad crossing mitigation fees. However the attachment to the Ordinance states: “Traffic Signal, Railroad Crossing and Fire Station Impact Mitigation Fee Calculation”.
The Fire Station Mitigation Fees weren’t listed in the Report to Council or the Ordinance, they were only listed in the Attachment. The Fire Station Mitigation Fees were based on the following calculations:
I.C General Plan Authorized New EDU’s
2. Non-Transportation EDU’s
Residential: 32,000 EDU
Commercial/Industrial: 1,965 AC x 10 EDU/AC = 19,650
Total Non-Transportation EDU’s: 51,650
The general rule is one (1) Fire Station per 10,000 people. 32,000 houses would bring the population to 70,000; which would require seven (7) fire stations, not three.
The 1999 estimated cost for three fire stations was $9 Million. Divided by 51,650 = $181 EDU.
The City should have charged $406.58 EDU in Fire Station Mitigation Fees, but since separate accounts were never set up and all the money was stolen anyway; it’s a mute point.
The Developers would have realized that the Fire Station Mitigation Fees were too low, but never said anything because it was saving them $225 on every house. It probably never occurred to the Developers that the City wouldn’t build any fire stations.
And who was paid millions to prepare the Reports to calculate mitigation fees and sneak in the Fire Station Mitigation Fees?
Urban Logic Consultants.
The only justification for their actions that I can think of is that they had to hide the Fire Station Mitigation Fees because they were already collecting Mello Roos bond debt for Fire Stations.
(EDU) Equivalent Dwelling Units