Collier commissioners have agreed to ease the blow of a necessary increase in water and sewer impact fees to support growth.
Instead of increasing the charges all at once, they voted Tuesday to support a phased approach.
County staff will come back with an ordinance in August that will raise fees by more than 80%, but do so gradually, over three years.
Otherwise, the proposed hikes could have taken full effect on Dec. 1.
The county regularly studies impact fees to see if they need to be adjusted based on changing costs and needs, using outside consultants. The fees are one-time charges on new construction designed to help growth pay for growth.
At their meeting two weeks ago, county commissioners balked at a proposal by staff to fully implement the higher fees this year. The board asked for alternatives to make the increases less painful.
More: Collier board looks to ease blow of impact fee increases for water and sewer services
Joseph Bellone, the county’s director for utilities finance, brought back options to increase the fees over two or three years.