The Sweet Home City Council will consider whether to increase building permit fees during a public hearing next month.
Current building permit fees do not cover the actual cost of inspections and staff time, Community Development Coordinator Carol Lewis said. “It’s the same philosophy I have in land use. If you’re coming in and you want to get a permit, you need to pay the full cost of your permit.”
City staff reviewed fees for all permits. Some permit fees had not been changed since 1991. Others were changed in 2000.
Most of the fees changed in 2002 won’t be increased in the proposal, while most others will be increased and fee structures will change. The fee structure for plumbing permits, for example, change substantially and will be simplified.
“We want to get this program to be really self-sufficient,” Lewis said. Subsidized by taxpayers, the building program, established in 1995, has not been self-sufficient yet.
Revenues collected in the Building Program have varied over the past years from a low of $62,000 in 2000 to a high of $111,000 in 2001, Lewis said. While revenues can vary , costs of operating the program will increase based on normal increases in personnel costs, especially those associated with the cost of benefits.
In 2000, personnel costs for the program were at about $94,000, Lewis said. With no increase in the number of persons working within the program, personnel costs in 2002 were projected to be about $147,500. Total costs of operating the program have gone up about 9 percent over the past three years.
“Revenue projections show continued deficits in operating the program,” Lewis said. “With continued uncertainty meeting the needs of general operations of the city with funds from property taxes, increasing pressure for available funds make these fee increases necessary.”
The public hearing on the new fees begins at 7:35 p.m. on Jan. 28 in the City Council Chamber in the City Hall Annex, 1240 12th Ave.
Among the proposed changes:
– Structural specialty code permits were updated in 2000 and are not being changed at this time. They will be based on the most recent ICBO Building Valuation Tables, updated by the ICBO annually.
Other related fees, such as plan review and fire, life safety review, will cost 65 percent and 40 percent respectively of the building permit fee. Other related charges, such as a re inspection fee or outside business hours, will be charged at $50 per hour.
— Manufactured dwelling permits were updated in 2000 and will not be changed.
— Demolition permit fees are proposed at $50 for the first $1,000 square feet with $15 per additional $1,000 square feet. Additional fees may apply for items, like plumbing disconnection.
— Mechanical permit fees, including a variety of permits, were updated in 2000, but the fee is below the cost of providing service. An increase will cover those costs.
— Plumbing permit fees were adopted in 1995 and have not been updated since. The proposal changes the method of calculating the fees.
— Grading permits were adopted in 1995 based on the 1991 Uniform Building Code (UBC) fee schedule and have not been changed since. The proposed increases cover the cost of implementing and enforcing grading permits.
— Manufactured home park construction permit regulations were adopted in 1995 and have not changed since then. At the time, only plumbing construction fees were included in the fee structure. The proposed fees change from a per space plumbing charge to a value-based fee structure based on the 1997 UBC fee table. Plumbing fees will be charged according to the plumbing fee schedule.
— RV park construction permit regulations were adopted in 1995 and have not changed since. At that time, only plumbing construction fees ere included in the fee structure. The proposed fees change from a per space plumbing charge to a value-based fee structure, based on the 1997 UBC fee table. Plumbing fees will be charged according to the plumbing fee schedule.