Builders are being charged as much as $19,361 in public services and schools surcharges to build new residences in Prince George’s County for the fiscal year that began July 1, according to increases adopted by the County Council.
The fees are up 3.5 percent over last year, based on the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers.
The vice president of a regional builder’s association said the surcharges fall on the high end of the scale. The county needs to strike a balance between paying for new fire, police and school facilities and not pricing homebuyers out of the market, said Bill Shipp, vice president for Prince George’s County affairs with the Maryland-National Capital Building Industry Association.
“You have to remember that all of these fees are passed on to home buyers,” Shipp said. “At some point it has an impact on the affordability of housing.”
The exact surcharge levied against builders erecting new single-family homes, town houses and other dwellings depend on where the units are located. New residences built inside the Capital Beltway or near a Metro rail station will pay $9,741 in surcharges while units elsewhere in the county will pay almost $10,000 more. The surcharges, while lumped with other permits in the budget, easily add up to millions in revenue for the county each year.
Shipp said the fees are necessary to help the county build schools and safety resources. Everyone benefits, Shipp said, but asking a homebuyer to spend $20,000 more on a house with no perceivable gain in the structure itself might be a tough sell.
“It’s not like I’m putting an extra $20,000 to build a solarium off the back,” Shipp said. “It’s a delicate balance.”
