Local brief
One month brings 14 times the annual impact-fee forecast
September receipts total $1.97 million, mostly for parks. But the comparison is against a $140,000 estimate—not last year’s revenue.
Sandy Springs recorded nearly $1.97 million in impact-fee receipts in September—more than 14 times its forecast for the entire fiscal year. The figure appears in the unaudited financial report scheduled for City Council’s Nov. 17 meeting.[1]
The eye-catching percentage needs a denominator check: the city budgeted just $140,000 in impact-fee revenue for fiscal 2027. Beating that estimate fourteenfold is not the same as collecting fourteen times last year’s revenue.[1][2]
The city’s approved budget provides the perspective. It lists $2.66 million in total impact-fee fund revenue for fiscal 2025, including interest, and projected $4.27 million for fiscal 2026. The latter is a projection, not a final collection total. Both figures are far above the $140,000 forecast used for the current year.[2]
Parks accounted for $1.62 million of September’s receipts, followed by $272,053 for transportation and $74,012 for public safety. September’s amounts also equal the year-to-date totals shown in the report, meaning all impact-fee revenue recorded for the first quarter appears in that month.[1]
Collections and spending are separate questions. The September schedule lists a $6.38 million budget for transfers from the fund to capital projects—$5.53 million for parks and $851,078 for transportation—but records no transfers through Sept. 30. That is a quarter-end snapshot, not a statement about what has been transferred since.[1]
Chief Financial Officer Toni Carlisle is listed to present the September financials Nov. 17. The council meeting follows the work session in City Hall’s Studio Theatre, 1 Galambos Way.[1]
Sources
2 official sources cited in this report. The bracketed numbers in the text link here.