COEUR d'ALENE - After years of discussions and stalls, Kootenai County is finally advancing with collecting impact fees for special districts.

More fire and highway districts have signed agreements for the county to collect fees from developers on their behalf, which will help pay for new equipment and improvement projects.

"It was worth all the effort," said Commissioner Todd Tondee, who has been a driving force on the issue.

Impact fees are only charged to builders of new structures. The dollars must go toward projects or materials that accommodate demand from new residents.

Districts suffering from budget cutbacks have been eager to get on board.

Spirit Lake Fire Protection District arranged weeks ago for the county to collect impact fees on its behalf.

And earlier this week, the county signed agreements with Post Falls Highway District, Timberlake Fire District and East Side Fire District.

Sure, the fees won't bring in as much as expected in pre-recession days, said Lynn Humphreys, PFHD commissioner.

"I don't anticipate a large windfall of dollars and cents," Humphreys said. "However, each and every dollar we are able to obtain will give us the opportunity to do a better job."

The fees will help fund improvements on local roads, he said.

Especially, he added, when new homes and shops start popping up again.

"As times get better and growth continues to get better, then we'll have it in place," he said. "That's when we'll reap the benefits of impact fee collection."

One ongoing concern: The county can only collect the fees in unincorporated areas.

If districts want to charge developers within city boundaries, the cities must agree to collect for them.

"It's an ongoing process," Humphreys said.

Rudy Rudebaugh, Timberlake commissioner, said that won't be an issue for his district, since 90 percent is in unincorporated areas.

County-collected fees will help the district replace its 20-year-old vehicles, Rudebaugh said.

"As the economy recovers, then growth will start again, and that's when we'll be needing it," he said.

East Side Highway District hopes to arrange for county collection this month, said Commissioner Jimmie Dorsey.

"I may be optimistic, but we're trying to move on it as fast as we can," Dorsey said.

Revenue is desperately needed, he added, as significantly less federal funding is available.

East Side won't ask the city of Coeur d'Alene to collect impact fees for the district, he added.

"I feel that rural should pay for rural areas," Dorsey said.

Some districts are less invested.

Lakes Highway District will not pursue impact fees, said Commissioner Marv Lekstrum.

Attorneys have suggested the collection could lead to a lawsuit, he explained.

"One lawsuit outweighs any benefit," Lekstrum said. "And it's very lopsided right now. There isn't much development going on. So we would opt for very little impact fee, with tremendous risk."

Northern Lakes Fire District has been waiting to collect the fees, said Commissioner Larry Clark.

But much of Northern Lakes lies within Hayden and Rathdrum, and neither city appears open to collecting for the district, Clark said.

"What they're forcing us to do us is take the 3 percent (property tax increase)," Clark said. "We've got engines 18 to 20 years old. We need to have some revenue coming, or it will start impeding our service to the public."

The city of Hayden wants more say in how impact fees are managed, reported city administrator Stefan Chatwin.

"We have a lot of unanswered questions regarding their proposed impact fees," Chatwin stated.

County officials worked through years of hearings and workshops with districts before creating an impact fee ordinance last year. The commissioners voted this February to collect 100 percent of impact fees requested by districts.

Clark expects more negotiations between districts and cities.

But he wonders how long districts like his can keep trying.

"It's getting a little tiring to keep going at it and at it and keep getting shot down," Clark said.