Council gives first reading to broad fee-schedule updates, adopts several amendments

The Eastpointe City Council introduced Ordinance 25-1250, a comprehensive update to the city's fee schedule, and completed a first reading on Aug. 19 with several amendments and directions to staff. Councilmembers approved motions to keep the vacant-structure registration period at one year (instead of six months), to remove a proposed progressive annual vacancy penalty, and to incorporate changes requested by the finance director. A second reading and potential adoption is scheduled for the regular council meeting on Sept. 2, 2025.

Why it matters: The fee-schedule revisions affect inspection, permitting and enforcement costs across multiple departments, and will change how the city charges for services such as site-plan reviews, building permits and vacant-property management. Councilmembers said the changes aim to match fees to the city's administrative costs while avoiding creating fines that are not already authorized by ordinance.

Council discussion focused on several themes. Members asked that any penalties be defined in the underlying ordinance rather than created by the fee schedule; that the fee schedule numbers mirror ordinance language; and that city staff justify new line items such as plan-review and mechanical/electrical permit detail. Building and code-enforcement staff explained that bringing more line items into the fee schedule allows fees to match the actual scope of work for modern projects (for example, household generators, solar systems and extensive rewiring). The council also debated how to treat long-vacant properties: staff said more than 100 commercial addresses are identifiable as vacant or misused, and argued for tools to inspect and remediate conditions that affect neighborhood safety and economic development. Councilmembers expressed concern about punitive, escalating fees that might drive owners to abandon properties and instead agreed to maintain a one-year registration interval and remove the progressive annual fee for now.

Council made several specific procedural decisions during the meeting: Councilmember DeMonaco moved to introduce the ordinance and set a Sept. 2 second-reading date; a subsequent amendment to keep vacant-property registration at one year and to strike the progressive annual fee passed on recorded roll calls; and a motion to incorporate the finance director's suggested changes (described at the meeting as cost-based language for several public-works items) also passed. All recorded votes on these motions were unanimous among the members present.

Staff and departmental clarifications included: building inspection staff said city employees now perform initial site visits and return inspections (previously contractors had been used); site-plan review fees are proposed at a base amount plus additional costs depending on plan complexity and number of review cycles; and certain public-works repair charges (overtime for water/sewer crews, concrete/street/sidewalk repair) were recommended to be billed as actual cost plus a 25% administration fee to avoid frequent fee-schedule changes when contractor rates change. The city manager's office told council it will reconcile fee-schedule figures with the ordinance text before second reading and will present the revised draft at the Sept. 2 meeting.

The council scheduled a second reading for Sept. 2, 2025; staff will return an updated ordinance that reflects the amendments and the finance director's adjustments.

For readers: this action is an introduction/first reading with amendments; no adoption or final fee increases take effect until after the second reading and any required publication or ordinance enactment steps.