Greater Albany Public Schools has collected $410,338 in taxes on new development in the three years since a law allowing the collection went into effect.

With interest income, the total amount is $413,447, Business Director Russell Allen said.

The tax money is to be used only for property purchases, new construction, building improvements or similar purchases. Albany has not spent any of its fund to date, Allen said, and has no plans to do so.

The school district has collection agreements with the cities of Albany, Millersburg and Tangent, and with Benton County. No revenue has been received so far for 2009-10, but plenty of construction is in the works, said Building Official Melanie Adams with the city of Albany.

“We’re definitely seeing an increasing trend in new construction. Lot of commercial projects are waiting in the wings,” Adams said. “They (GAPS) actually should see more from this last quarter than the previous quarter.”

The city’s building division collects the construction excise tax in addition to various other fees required for new construction. From an administration standpoint, Adams said, no one has had any problem. Some customers complain, she said, but most understand the tax was meant to make new development help pay for any strain on schools.

“In our experience, the greatest frustration results when a customer discovers that the CET is more than the cost of the basic building permit fee itself,” she said, “thereby doubling the price of obtaining a permit.”

For instance, she said, she has paperwork on a new house that totals $1,773.30 in costs for the building, plumbing and other permits. The construction excise tax is an additional $2,512.

“You could see why people might get a little sketchy,” she said.

The cities of Albany and Millersburg levy administration fees of 1 percent of the collected excise tax revenue. Tangent levies 3 percent, made possible by a later legislative session.

The school district collected $83,427 from the city of Albany in 2007-08 and $277,943 in 2008-09. It collected $48,968 from the city of Millersburg in 2008-09.

In Albany, the tax is $1 per square foot of new housing and 50 cents per square foot of new non-residential structures, with a cap of $25,000 per building permit.

Exemptions include nonprofit organizations, residential remodels including shops and barns, and homes being replaced because of a disaster.