Impact fee deferral decision targeting illegals to be tested

By I.M. STACKEL (Contact)
9:22 p.m., Sunday, May 25, 2008

http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2008/may ... illegals-/


The first test comes Tuesday.

Two weeks after Collier County commissioners decided to close the impact fee deferral program to charities that might serve illegal immigrants, an advocate for the homeless plans to take a chance and pitch his project.

St. Matthew’s House director Vann Ellison is scheduled to ask commissioners Tuesday to defer impact fees for construction of Wolfe Apartments in Golden Gate. Impact fees are charges property developers pay to offset the cost of increased services in a community, such as road maintenance and improvement.

He doesn’t necessarily ask the homeless and needy if they’re U.S. citizens, he said.

Do-good organizations rarely do.

Girl Scouts of Gulfcoast Florida, for example, doesn’t.

There’s a box that a child — or her parents — can check off, but they’re not required to do so, said Kathy Carol, spokeswoman for the organization.

United Way, an umbrella agency for numerous privately supported charitable organizations, also doesn’t ask that question.

And probably many of the member groups don’t either, said Ernie Bretzmann, executive director of United Way of Collier County.

“I think everyone has issues with illegal immigration (but) they come here to get jobs,â€