A Dunn County resident who replaced a bathtub and shower fixture asked the county commission on Jan. 2 why he received a $25 charge after his contractor filed paperwork with county offices.

"I put in a new bathtub and shower fixture in my house, Can I get a permit? Are I gonna pay a permit to the county for $25," resident Jason Reese said during the public-comment portion of the meeting.

Sandy Rode, Dunn County code administrator, told the commissioners and Reese that the county does not issue building permits for every remodeling job but does require a $25 "notice of construction" whenever a new structure is built. "So, first of all, it's not a building permit. It's a notice of construction," Rode said, adding that since 2011 her office has required notices for new structures and that contractors commonly submit the notices and pay the fee on customers' behalf.

Rode said she traced a February 2022 filing related to Reese's address to a home-improvement contractor and that the company often submits notices to the county when it performs work. "They sent the permit in... and your home improvement paid the bill," she said.

Reese told commissioners he received correspondence that looked like a bill and questioned why a bathroom fixture replacement would trigger a county charge. Rode and commissioners said the notice requirement is intended primarily to inform the county assessor and other departments that a structure has been added or altered so the property can be assessed for taxation; Rode explained the $25 fee had been set years earlier.

Rode described the practical difference between Dunn County's notice of construction and a building permit used in larger jurisdictions: a notice does not trigger county inspections or a certificate of occupancy, while a building permit does. She also said many financial institutions increasingly require a building permit or analogous documentation before financing a new house.

Several commissioners and staff said the situation illustrated unclear language in the county code about titled manufactured homes and a variety of structures. "I think we should maybe have when we do some code reviews we should talk about that in the planning and zoning and bring a recommendation to the County Board," Commissioner Heizer said during the discussion.

The commission did not vote on a specific policy change at the Jan. 2 meeting. Commissioners suggested that planning and zoning review the county code language and fee practice so staff can recommend whether minor interior plumbing work filed by a contractor should automatically prompt a notice and fee, and Rode said she could administratively return fees when filings clearly should not have resulted in a charge.

The county said it will address the wording of the notice-permit rules during an upcoming planning and zoning code review. In the meantime Rode advised residents to call the code office before starting work if they are unsure whether a notice or permit is required.