On November 9, 2017 and pursuant to House Bill 436 “An Act to provide for uniform authority to implement system development fees for public water and sewer systems in North Carolina,” The City of Locust contracted Raftelis Financial Consultants to complete a System Development Fee Study. House Bill 436 was signed into law on July 20, 2017 and it amended Chapter 162A, Article 8 of the General Statutes “System Development Fees” This legislation sets forth the process for establishing development fees, which requires a written analysis prepared by a “financial professional or licensed professional engineer. House Bill 436 requires compliance by July 1, 2018.
Raftelis Financial Consultants calculated the system development fee for the City of Locust using the “Buy-In Approach” method. This method focuses on existing facilities with available capacity to serve new customers, and the analysis is based on fixed asset records.
On Thursday, March 8, 2018 the Locust City Council heard a presentation from Raftelis Financial Consultants regarding the findings of the system development fee study. As required, the complete report and written analysis can be found here. Following the presentation, the City Council scheduled a 45 day waiting period to solicit written comments from the public. The public comment period closed on Monday, April 23, 2018. The City of Locust did not received public comment. A public hearing is scheduled for May 10, 2018 to adopt system development fees. The City is required to publish the adopted system development fees in the annual budget ordinance, and to update the written analysis at least every 5 years.
To view the study click here.
To ensure all comments are considered by Raftelis Financial Consultants, the City respectfully requests for all public comments to be submitted via certified mail to the following address:
Public Comment: System Development Fees
Attn: Cesar Correa, City Administrator
City of Locust
P.O. Box 190
Locust, NC 28097
For any questions regarding System Development Fees, please contact Cesar Correa, City Administrator at 704-888-5260.