Oconomowoc council approves building inspection fee increases, adds $75 deck review charge
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Summary
The council approved Resolution 25‑R3313 to adjust building inspection and permit fees. Staff defended changes as bringing the city closer to regional comparables and to cover review time; one alderman voted against the measure at final council action.
The Oconomowoc Common Council approved Resolution 25‑R3313 on Oct. 7, changing the city’s building inspection fee schedule to reflect recent cost and staffing updates.
Why it matters: Building permit and inspection fees help cover the cost of plan review and on‑site inspections. Adjusting fees affects homeowners, contractors and commercial builders and may influence project cost estimates.
At committee the staff presentation outlined the proposed changes, which include increases to the new residential permit fee, higher commercial permit fees and a new $75 review fee for deck plan review. “When I wanted to put numbers to some of this…the whole park is under 60,000 square feet” (context for a separate item), and later Herzog noted about permits: “they're looking at $5,600 on average, more for the inspection of a permit” when speaking about broader permit cost impacts and the need to update fees to reflect staff time and comparables.
Staff said the city compared neighboring jurisdictions and aimed to stay near the middle of comparable fees to avoid pricing projects out of town. The new $75 deck review fee was described as a response to a lack of a prior review fee and to the staff time required to check plan details.
Council action: On the Oct. 7 council agenda the resolution was moved and adopted. Roll call on the council motion recorded Ayes from Aldermen Ellis, Spiegelberg, Shellpepper, McConnell, Rosick and Altman Kloth; Alderman Youngworth voted Nay. The motion approved the fee adjustments as outlined in Resolution 25‑R3313.
What’s next: The fee schedule change will take effect under the timetable in the adopted resolution and be applied to new permits and plan submissions. Staff said they will continue to provide comparative data and monitor whether the new structure affects permit take‑up.
Context note: The council discussed the fee schedule as part of the broader municipal budget process and asked staff to confirm that local contractors and property owners would not be priced out by the change; staff said they had compared peer communities and aimed to remain competitive.
