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Larimer County staff propose July cost-of-living increases for building fees and a 4.44% catch-up for transportation expansion fees
Summary
County building-permit and development-review fees will rise 2.27% on July 1 under existing authorization; engineers proposed a 4.44% Transportation Capital Expansion Fee (TCEF) increase to ‘catch up’ from last year's partial adoption and to fund road projects; staff will place the items on the consent agenda.
Larimer County staff told the Board of County Commissioners on May 12 that building permit and planning and engineering development-review fees will increase by 2.27% effective July 1 under existing board authorizations, and that staff are proposing a 4.44% catch-up increase to Transportation Capital Expansion Fees tied to the Colorado Department of Transportation construction-cost index.
Eric Fried, Larimer County building official, said the board authorized annual cost-of-living adjustments for building fees in February 2008 and that a December 2023 board action extended the same annual CPI-based adjustment to planning and engineering development-review fees. Fried said last year’s regional consumer price index change was 2.27%, and staff plan to implement that adjustment on July 1.
Mark Peterson, county engineer, and Steven Rothwell, Larimer County Engineering, explained TCEF calculations and recommended a 4.44% increase to recover a roughly 7% “deficiency” that resulted after the board adopted a smaller increase last year instead of the full index-calculated change. Rothwell said the county uses the CDOT construction cost index and an eight-quarter moving average; when the board adopted a 10% increase last year instead of a 17% index result, the county accrued a catch-up gap. Peterson said the TCEF revenue funds capital road projects rather than salaries.
Officials provided financial context. Peterson told commissioners the county typically collects about $1,300,000 in total fees (development-related fees) and that adopting the smaller increase last year reduced revenue by roughly $100,000 relative to the full index calculation. Staff gave an example showing a single-family home in the cited square-footage band would see a $294 increase in fees if the board adopts the 4.44% TCEF change.
Peterson and Rothwell recommended implementing the 4.44% catch-up now and completing a full reassessment of the capital expansion fee calculations later this year. Commissioners expressed support for catching up, noting prior-year concerns about property tax reappraisals and that the fees fund road capacity projects. One commissioner noted CDOT cut about $200 million from statewide transportation funds this year, underscoring local funding needs.
Staff said the building and development-review fee adjustments and the TCEF change will be presented on the consent agenda in the coming weeks; no final vote occurred at the work session.
