In a move to encourage growth two years ago, Eagle Mountain waived high impact fees. A city collects impact fees from builders and uses the money to install utilities such as water, sewer and electricity lines city officials told developers they would waive the fees if the developers put in utility lines. Developers agreed because they could do it cheaper than what the city was charging them.

"It worked for some developers," said Councilman Greg Kehl. "It didn't work for others."

Kehl said when growth slowed in the city center, developers could no longer afford to do things themselves. Some developers didn't even bother to try, he said.

The city was left with an unfinished city center area and uncollected debts from developers.

Last week, the City Council decided to reinstate impact fees by having a consultant company come out and survey the properties, giving recommendations on where to set the fees, and forgive some developer debts to jump-start growth in the town center. That has upset some people, however.

John Hanson, a retired bank president who is now a fraud investigator, said the city's past practice of forgiving some debts and not others, of waiving one company's fees and not another's is "goofy and blatantly discriminatory."

The city's debt and its practice of dealing differently with different companies are significant red flags, said Hanson, who has been hired by an outside firm to investigate the city's finances. He would not disclose the name of the business that hired him.

City Manager John Newman said things will work out between the city and developers eventually.

"There's too much invested for it not to work out," he said.

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E-mail: rrogers@desnews.com