LaGrange City Council has had the first of several hearings on proposed impact fees that could pay for nearly all of the projected $59.4 million in capital costs for roads, and police and fire services that will be needed over the next 21 years to maintain current levels of service.

Developers would pay the fees when they get building permit.

Without impact fees, city residents would have to pay the equivalent of 4.3 mills in property taxes to finance public facilities that will be needed to accommodate growth.

The most that could be charged would be $1,025 for a single-family home and $866 for an apartment. Business and industrial buildings would pay on a per square foot basis.

The fees shouldn’t be too high because “you don’t want to put the city in a position of pushing away development that you want,”’ said Bill Ross of Ross & Associates of Atlanta, which helped Troup County draft an impact fee ordinance scheduled to take effect on July 1.

A 10-member advisory committee will meet in January to talk about a draft ordinance for the city and recommend what developers would pay.

In another matter Thursday, council appointed Carolyn Haamid to fill the unexpired term of Mattie Williams on the board of Community Action for Improvement.