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Chris Bieber, 645 38 Court, and member of the Task Force Review group, expressed <br />concerns regarding the increase in impact fees, and the issues he has with the Report. He felt <br />there needed to be an ongoing look at running the County more like a business. He also felt the <br />County needed to take a look at the level of service it is providing and then determine if this was <br />the best use of our funds at this time. <br />Honey Minuse, President of the Indian River Neighborhood Association (IRNA), and a <br />participant in the Task Force review group, dissented from the opinions of the review committee. <br />She believed the development industry must pay for the cost of impact on our community, and <br />that the Board should accept the Consultant's report and move on. <br />Nancy Offutt, Government Affairs Director for the Treasure Coast Builders <br />Associations, took exception to Ms. Minuse's comments that she represented "the only <br />organization speaking for the taxpayers." Ms. Offutt talked about the vital role the construction <br />industry has played in this economy and the State, and discussed the negative impacts on the <br />community if fees were raised. She asked the Board to consider infrastructure, schools, etcetera, <br />and to be conservative. She suggested the County look at the levels of service it has adopted and <br />then decide which ones are realistic, which ones can we afford, and which ones are too expensive <br />for Indian River County. <br />Duane Weise, 8485 Seacrest Drive, disagreed with a former speaker that impact fees <br />have no effect on existing property owners. He thought that was misleading and explained how <br />fees are eventually passed on to owners. He asked the Board to be cautious and to look at the <br />effect on the total population of the County, and not just the people moving in. <br />Debra Ecker, 550 Riomar Drive, had prior experience developing an econometric model <br />for forecasting revenues and expenditure. She said she was favorably impressed with the <br />Duncan Report, but kept waiting to hear something about how they were going to be forecasting <br />12 <br />March 6, 2008 <br />Public Workshop <br />