Construction fees in Vermont
This state has a general impact fee enabling act. Local governments here charge under a statewide statute, which means there are written limits on what can be charged, how it must be calculated and when it must be refunded.
Vt. Stat. Ann. tit. 24, § 5200 et seq.
Guiding standard in the act: proportionate share. That phrase is the ceiling on what may be charged, and it is the cheapest argument a fee payer has.
Your fee stack in Vermont
Answer four things and get the list of every body that can bill this project, what each one is allowed to charge for, and the rights your state's law gives you before you pay.
What Vermont says about your project
A short act with a broad facility list, including schools.
Vermont is one of the few states that kept the recalculation-and-refund provision that Texas later repealed.
What the fees may pay for
10 of 10 facility categories are eligible here. A charge for anything not on this list is resting on some other authority, and that is a fair question to ask.
| Facility type | Eligible for impact fees |
|---|---|
| Roads and transportation | Yes |
| Water facilities | Yes |
| Wastewater and sewer | Yes |
| Stormwater and drainage | Yes |
| Parks and recreation | Yes |
| Fire | Yes |
| Police | Yes |
| Libraries | Yes |
| Solid waste | Yes |
| Schools | Yes |
What the jurisdiction had to do first
These are the homework requirements in the act. Where one is required and missing, that is a procedural defect you can raise without a lawyer.
| Planning requirement | In the act |
|---|---|
| Written analysis required | Yes |
| Service areas required | Yes |
| List of projects required | Yes |
| Growth projections required | Yes |
| Level of service standards required | Not required |
Timing, credits, refunds and waivers
| Provision | What the act says |
|---|---|
| When the fee may be collected | any time |
| Recoupment of prior costs allowed | Yes |
| Recalculate and refund overestimates | Yes |
| Waivers expressly authorized | general |
| Waived fees must be backfilled | no |
| Spend-or-refund window | 6 years |
What to do next in Vermont
- Confirm whether your parcel is in a city or unincorporated, then pull the taxing district list from the assessor's record. Why that list is the real fee list.
- Request the current adopted fee schedule and a written fee estimate for the address. The six-step sequence.
- Call each utility separately. Tap fees usually sit outside the act, and are often the largest line.
- If you are dedicating land or building improvements, request the credit in writing before assessment. How to ask.
- Calendar the refund date. Unspent fees here come back after 6 years. Almost nobody claims these.
- Pay under protest if you intend to dispute anything at all. What that preserves.