Broward County Commission Regular Meeting
Director's Name: Andrew J. Meyers
Department: County Attorney
Information
Requested Action
title
MOTION TO TERMINATE for convenience the Interlocal Agreement Related to School Impact Fee Monies (“ILA”) between Broward County and The School Board of Broward County, Florida (“School Board”); authorize the County Administrator to provide notice of termination to the School Board in accordance with the ILA; direct the County Attorney’s Office to draft an Ordinance amending the Broward County Code of Ordinances (“Code”) consistent with the termination; and direct the County Administrator to discontinue collection of student station costs as of October 1, 2025.
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Why Action is Necessary
The ILA requires approval of the Board to terminate, and Board direction is required for the County Attorney’s Office to draft an Ordinance amending the Code.
What Action Accomplishes
Authorizes the termination of the ILA and provides the required direction to the County Attorney’s Office and County Administration.
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Previous Action Taken
Summary Explanation/Background
Sections 5-182 and 27-66 of the Code provide for the County’s collection of transportation concurrency assessments and impact fees for roads and certain parks (limited to regional parks and local parks in the Broward Municipal Services District). The County also collects school impact fees pursuant to the ILA, which recognizes that the County is acting on behalf of the School Board. With the exception of 2% of the funds that are retained by the County for administrative costs, the collected school impact fees are remitted to the School Board. The ILA is terminable by the County for convenience upon 90 days’ prior notice, or for cause after a 60-day opportunity to cure the default.
Pursuant to 2024 Legislative enactments that require impact fee calculations to be based on a study within the last four years, and the absence of such study, the County suspended collection of transportation concurrency assessments and road and park impact fees on October 1, 2024. Accordingly, only school impact fees are currently being collected by the County.
The County and the School Board have also entered into agreements with various municipalities with Activity Centers that provide for developers within the Activity Centers to pay the higher of student station costs or school impact fees to mitigate the impact of new development within the Activity Center (“Tri-Party Agreements”). On September 17, 2024, Item No. 61, the Board adopted a Resolution supporting the release of the Tri-Party Agreements, which would allow developers within the Activity Centers to mitigate their development’s impact on public schools by paying school impact fees. The Tri-Party Agreements have yet to be released by the School Board.
During the 2025 Legislative Session, the Florida Legislature enacted Chapter 2025-177, Laws of Florida, which becomes effective on October 1, 2025, and prohibits school districts from collecting any alternative fee in lieu of an impact fee unless the alternative fee meets certain legal standards. If challenged in court, the School Board would have the burden of proving the legal standards are met. The School Board counsel has stated that their legal position is that the student station cost requirement of the Tri-Party Agreements is consistent with the new law. We will share our legal opinion with you during individual briefings. Additionally, continued collection of the student station costs would be contrary to the Resolution the Board adopted on September 17, 2024. Termination of the ILA does not prevent the School Board from collecting the student station costs, but merely removes the County as the collection agent. The County Attorney’s Office has notified the School Board of the intent to seek Board direction to discontinue collection as of October 1, 2025, so that the School Board can, if it so chooses, prepare to collect student station costs on its own and to collect school impact fees after the 90-day notice period.
This item, if approved, would: (i) authorize and direct termination of the ILA for convenience; (ii) direct the County Attorney’s Office to draft necessary amendments to the Code; and (iii) direct the County Administrator to cease collecting student station costs on October 1, 2025, and school impact fees after the termination date of the ILA.
Source of Additional Information
Maite Azcoitia, Deputy County Attorney, 954-357-7600
Fiscal Impact
Fiscal Impact/Cost Summary
The ILA yielded administrative cost income to the County of 2% of impact fees collected, which was $345,348.58 in FY24. Upon termination, the County would no longer receive that administrative cost income.