Fayetteville adopts phased user-fee increases; council authorizes seven staffing additions for development and engineering

Fayetteville City Council on Feb. 18 approved a package of ordinances and a resolution implementing recommendations from a user-fee study and authorized new staff to reduce review times and strengthen field inspections.

"The biggest takeaway from our user fee study is that we as a city have been subsidizing the development review process," Jonathan Kurth, Development Services, told the council. The consultant's review found fee recovery varied widely across departments; the city had not updated many fees in roughly two decades.

What the council approved - Ordinances changing water and sewer tap and connection fees, including new depth-based charges and consolidated line items; staff proposed phased implementation (C4). - Ordinance updates to business regulation fees: small cell facility permits, door-to-door solicitor permits and business-license fees (C5). - Amendments to the Unified Development Code fee schedule and building-safety fees; implementation is staggered so staff can process the changes (C6). - A resolution adding staffing: four engineering positions in Public Works (engineering services coordinator, plans examiner, staff engineer (unlicensed), public works project inspector) and three positions in Development Services (urban forester, planning outreach/communications specialist, code compliance officer) (C7). The council approved a related budget adjustment.

Why it matters: Kurth and staff said fees had fallen behind actual costs, and some divisions were recovering a small share of the cost of services. The council adopted a phased approach in many categories rather than immediate full-cost recovery; in several cases staff will implement one-third of the consultant's recommended increase in year one with additional increases in subsequent years. Kurth emphasized a staged rollout would reduce administrative shocks and allow staff time to update billing systems.

Council response and implementation: Councilors across the dais supported the package and the staffing requests, saying the city needs more capacity to process permits and inspections and to reduce applicant and resident wait times. Councilperson Stafford said the staffing additions were "a game changer" for developers who can get entitlements but then face long waits for permits and inspections. Councilperson Moore said hiring is an explicit response to a declared housing crisis.

Financial context: Staff told the council the new positions are expected to be funded in part by increased fee revenue and that one-time startup costs (vehicles and equipment) were factored into the budget adjustment. Staff also proposed considering an indexation mechanism (tied to a consumer price index) in a later phase so fees do not again fall behind inflation.

Ending: The council voted to adopt the fee schedule ordinances (with staggered effective dates) and the staffing resolution; staff will return with implementation schedules and begin recruitment to fill the newly authorized positions.