§7-20-9. Refund of unexpended impact fees.

(a) The owner or purchaser of property for which impact fees have been paid may apply for a refund of any such paid fees. Such refund shall be made when a county commission fails to expend such funds within six years from the date such fees were originally collected. The county commission shall notify potential claimants by first class mail deposited in the United States mail and directed to the last known address of any such claimant. Only the owner or purchaser may apply for such refund. Application for any refund must be submitted to the county commission within one year of the date the right to claim the refund arises. All refunds due and unclaimed shall be retained in the special account and expended as required herein, except as provided in this section. The right to claim any refund may be limited by the provisions of section five in this article.

(b) When a county commission seeks to terminate any impact fee requirement, all unexpended funds shall be refunded to the owner or purchaser of the property from whom such fund was initially collected. Upon the finding that any or all fee requirements are to be terminated, the county commission shall place notice of such termination and the availability of refunds in a newspaper of general circulation one time a week for two consecutive weeks and shall also notify all known potential claimants by first class mail deposited with the United States postal service at their last known address. All funds available for refund shall be retained for a period of one year. At the end of one year, any remaining funds may be transferred to the General Fund and used for any public purpose. A county commission is released from this notice requirement if there are no unexpended balances within an account or funds being terminated.