Building Industry Association of Washington (BIAW) recently requested that Washington State Auditor Brian Sonntag audit a number of cities in Washington to determine: (1) how they set impact fee formulas, and (2) how the impact fees are spent.

The letter to Sonntag emphasized the problems homebuilders face with rising impact fees. Mainly, governments are not accountable when setting impact fee formulas and spending the fees on projects. Often, the only way to challenge a city’s impact fee formula and its expenditures is to bring a lawsuit – which is impractical considering the legal costs the builder would incur and the considerable time before such fees are recouped.

By requesting the Auditor’s Office to look at how cities set their impact fee formulas and spend such fees, BIAW will be able to hold governments accountable by determining whether they are complying with the law.