Financial Procedure FAQ 8

What are impact fees and what can they be used for?

Section 66.0617 of the Wisconsin statutes provides explicit authority for towns, villages, and cities to enact ordinances imposing impact fees (i.e., cash contributions, contributions of land or interests in land or any other items of value) upon developers of land to pay for the construction of certain public facilities necessitated by the development. Impact fees may be imposed to pay for some or all of the capital costs to construct, expand, or improve the following “public facilities”: highways and other transportation facilities, traffic control devices, facilities for collecting and treating sewage, facilities for collecting and treating storm and surface waters, facilities for pumping, storing and distributing water, parks, playgrounds, and land for athletic fields, solid waste and recycling facilities, fire protection facilities, law enforcement facilities, emergency medical facilities and libraries. Wis. Stat. §§ 66.0617(1)(a), (f ). “Public Facilities” does not include facilities owned by a school district. Wis. Stat. § 66.0617(1)(f ). (rev. 5/19)