An attorney Ranson hired to look into the matter advised City Council members not to enter into an agreement the county wants regarding the fees.
Hamill declined to tell the commissioners what the attorney told them, but said the city does not want to abandon the attorney's advice.
"Why can't you just accept the funds the way we want to give them to you?" Hamill asked.
Board of Education member Alan Sturm told council members that Jefferson County school officials consider the County Commission to be the entity that should collect impact fees and forward them to the Board of Education.
The board only will accept fees from the county, not from Ranson, Sturm said.
Impact fees, implemented by the county in January 2004, are designed to help fund school construction projects demanded by population growth.
Home builders pay $7,122 for every new single-family home and mobile home they put up, $5,562 for every town house or duplex and $4,040 for every multifamily dwelling.
The county's other four municipalities - Charles Town, Harpers Ferry, Shepherdstown and Bolivar - have allowed the county to collect the fees, Commission President Rusty Morgan said during the meeting.
More than $3.4 million has been collected, he said.
Morgan asked Ranson to begin complying "for the kids."
Hamill said he will meet again with the city's attorney and review a proposal submitted by the county. He asked, "half-facetiously," that a misspelling of his last name be corrected on the county's proposal.
He said he hopes to reach a solution in a week to 10 days.
