FORT SMITH -- Residential developers and several city directors voiced concern Thursday about proposed water utility fee increases, noting the size and immediacy if they are approved.
Utilities Director Lance McAvoy said the department's internal auditor in 2020 found certain fees weren't being collected and others were outdated. A plan to look at and prioritize those fees was delayed in 2020 due to the covid-19 pandemic, he said.
In a memo to City Administrator Carl Geffken, McAvoy said the Utilities Department looked at fees in other cities when creating its proposal. He said some of the proposed fees would require updates to ordinances, which would require approval by the directors.
"If you don't want to do anything, you don't have to," McAvoy told the directors at a study session Thursday. "If you want to pick this one and say yes and pick this one and say no, that is at your leisure and that's how we'll proceed. "
At-Large City Director Kevin Settle asked that the fee proposal be put into smaller parts to be brought to the board at sessions in the coming months.
"Trying to look at this big, massive piece with all these fees is confusing to me," he said. "If it's confusing to me, it's going to be confusing to everybody in the public. So let's do it one small bite at a time.
"We're not going to nickel and dime everyone to death, and that's where I'm at," he said.
Geffken asked the city directors to tell him which fees they are for or against, which will help guide the study sessions and ensure that the Utilities Department's work creating the proposal is on target.
"I think this should not be rushed. I think this should take as much time as the board feels comfortable doing. And if that's a year, so be it. If it's six months, then that's more ideal for us," he said.
Three developers attended the meeting to express their concerns about the proposal. They said they felt better after hearing the directors' remarks.
Rocky Walker, president of the Home Builders Association in Fort Smith as well as a subdivision developer, builder and real estate broker, noted he and other developers have invested heavily in preparation for the Foreign Military Sales project, and large fee increases on them could hinder their progress.
Ebbing Air National Guard Base at Fort Smith Regional Airport was selected last year as the Air Force's preferred location for a pilot training center for Singapore and other countries participating in the Foreign Military Sales program. The proposal would accommodate up to 24 foreign Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II aircraft and move 12 General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcons from the Singapore air force, currently at Luke Air Force Base in Glendale, Ariz.
While Ebbing is the preferred location, the Air Force chose Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Harrison Township, Mich., if the center couldn't be at Fort Smith for some reason.
"We're not unreasonable," Walker said. "We see you've got inflation and other things, so you've got to cover some costs there, so we're up for any of that. Obviously, you all are in charge, so you're going to do whatever you're going to do, but we would ask that you be reasonable on those fees.
"This is our livelihood. You're talking about renters. You're talking about homebuyers. You're talking about small business, and you're talking about large business. You all are going to affect everybody in the city."
Ward 1 Director Jarred Rego said developers are probably the most important industry in Fort Smith right now, and the proposal wasn't meant to shock or scare them.
"I know Lance just wanted us to see the whole menu of options," he said. "So you see the conversation about it, you've seen where we're at. I would hope that when you all have your conversations in the days and weeks moving forward, you spread the word back out that this board is going to proceed cautiously, and this is not a thing that's sneaking up on you overnight."