WHITEFISH, MONT. (August 9, 2024) — The City of Whitefish, in conjunction with its former impact fee consultant FCS Group, reached a settlement agreement with the class action plaintiffs in the case of Beck, et al. v. City of Whitefish, et al. In the class action lawsuit, damages in excess of $3.8 million were sought against the City. The settlement is for $1,400,000, of which the City agreed to contribute $400,000.
In the summer of 2021, the City discovered an error in the calculation of water and wastewater impact fees that occurred between January 1, 2019, and July 31, 2021. The error only involved fixture counts assigned to single-head, standalone showers. The City publicly acknowledged the error and began an audit to determine what refunds were owed to its citizens. While the City was attempting to remedy its error, a putative class action lawsuit was filed against it in federal district court by five individuals and two developers. The lawsuit involved not only the fixture count issue, but allegations that the impact fees calculated by FCS Group and adopted by the City in 2019 were excessive.
Under the terms of the settlement agreement, reached through mediation, there is no admission of wrongdoing by the City. While the City has consistently acknowledged its inadvertent fixture count error, it has stood by, and continues to stand by, the reasonableness and accuracy of the impact fees that were calculated by FSC Group, a nationally renowned impact fee consultant.
The $400,000 contributed by the City to the settlement will be paid from its water and wastewater impact fee funds. If the settlement is approved by the Court, notice and distribution of settlement funds to eligible class members will be provided by the Settlement Administrator, and not the City.
The settlement reaffirms the City’s commitment, first announced four years ago, to issuing impact fee refunds due as a result of the City’s fixture count error. It also reflects the City’s commitment to its citizens that they will not have to shoulder the burden of the significant cost associated with moving forward with trial proceedings through increased water and wastewater rates.
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media contact:
Dana Smith, CPA
City Manager
City of Whitefish
Ph: 406-863-2406
dsmith@cityofwhitefish.org