The impact of residential development on public services often is of major interest to local government and school district officials, and to local residents. This workbook will help you conduct an economic impact
analysis of a specific proposed residential development in your Pennsylvania community. The workbook uses the Per Capita Multiplier method of analysis, which is the most commonly used method for fiscal impact analysis. Because it is economic analysis, the workbook focuses only on the potential economic impacts of the development, and ignores other considerations such as the environment, traffic or commuting patterns, historical or cultural sites, and the quality of life. Workbook results are intended to be part of larger discussion about the overall impact of the development.

How to use this workbook

The on-line workbook involves three basic steps:

1. Select the county where the development will occur

2. Select the school district and municipality where the development will occur

3. Enter information about the number and average price of the units in the development, and verify tax rate information

If you want to run several alternative scenarios about the development (such as how the impact would be different with fewer new homes), after you see the results simply use the workbook's internal navigation by selecting a step from the menu located on the left. Do not use use your browers back button. Remember to make give each scenario a unique name.

Note: To use this on-line version of the workbook, your browser must have cookies and Javascript enabled.

The tables in the On-Line version are numbered to correspond to the tables in the paper version of the workbook.

The On-line Workbook uses school district and municipal data from 2002.