County benefiting from interest earned in Impact Trust Fund

RBC – Since early this summer, Rio Blanco County has been earning interest from fees collected through the Impact Trust Fund.
“The interest earned has been almost $25,000 and there have been some large expenditures for capital projects,” said Karen Arnold, county treasurer.
Fees collected can only be used for capital projects, as stipulated by the county commissioners. Diane Sorensen, county budget director, said money from the Impact Trust Fund has been used on the County Road 122 project.
Commissioners approved the establishment of the impact fees in early June. The fees apply to commercial, industrial and residential new development in the county.
“The Impact Trust Fund was officially set up in June as a county fund, and the monies were deposited in their own account at Colotrust,” Arnold said. “The balance at the end of September was $1.7 million, and we’ve received payments in October to push the balance over $2 million.”
— Jeff Burkhead