Council amends registration fees and delays effective date for building-registration ordinance

The Florence City Council voted to amend bill 2025-20-3 to create separate standards for residential and commercial buildings and to adopt a stepped registration-fee schedule, the council said during its meeting.

The amendment changes section 4-974 to treat residential and commercial buildings under different registration tiers, with a graduated renewal schedule and an adjusted effective date. Council members also approved moving the ordinance’s effective date from July 1, 2025, to Jan. 1, 2026.

Under the fee schedule presented during the meeting, residential buildings would pay an initial registration of $250, then annual renewals of $500 (first renewal), $750 (second renewal), $1,000 (third renewal) and $1,250 each year thereafter. Commercial buildings would pay an initial registration of $500, then $1,000 (first renewal), $2,000 (second renewal), $3,000 (third renewal) and $4,000 each year thereafter.

The motion to amend the ordinance was moved and seconded and the council approved the amendment by voice vote. The meeting record shows the council chair called for the ayes, and the motion carried.

The amendment was discussed after the council returned from an earlier executive session; the minutes and speakers’ remarks indicate that the session returned with “no vote or no action taken.” The council then resumed consideration of bill 2025-20-3 and approved the amendment.

Details on whether fines, exemptions, or enforcement mechanisms were changed as part of this amendment were not specified in the discussion recorded in the transcript.