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Chippewa County board approves revised planning and zoning fees and creates full-time building inspector funded by fees
Summary
The county board approved a revised schedule of Planning & Zoning fees effective Jan. 1, 2026, and approved creating a full-time building inspector position to be funded solely by inspection fees; board members discussed fee increases, signpost costs and inspection workload.
The Chippewa County Board approved a revised schedule of fees for the Department of Planning and Zoning and separately approved a midyear request to add a full-time building inspector position funded by inspection fees.
Doug (department director, Planning and Zoning) told the board the fee changes are intended to bring the county's charges closer to regional peers and to cover specific program costs. "We really gotta rebuild those signs," he said about drive‑address signposts that shatter when they hit cobblestones; the revised address fee is intended to cover replacement costs over the next eight to nine years assuming about 30% breakage.
Nut graf: the twin actions aim to strengthen the department's self-funded uniform dwelling code (UDC) program by raising several fees (most up by $25, some by $50) and by creating a fee-funded inspector post to handle growing inspection demand.
Key details: the revised UDC schedule sets a base fee example of $1,215 for a 4,000-square-foot house; the director said that still places the county among the lower-fee jurisdictions in the region. The planning committee recommended increasing certain septic (POUTS) fees by $50 rather than the $25 originally proposed. The revised schedule is set to take effect Jan. 1, 2026.
On personnel, the board approved a midyear resolution to create a full-time building inspector (resolution 26-25). The director said the department issues roughly 200 new construction permits yearly; that averages about 2,600 inspections for new homes alone (about 13 inspections per permit). He said the existing inspector, Fred Henkel (hired 2015), is handling a heavy workload and the new hire would reduce travel and response time. The resolution specifies the position will be funded solely by inspection fees and can be eliminated during the budget process if fees are insufficient.
Board comments reflected differing priorities. Supervisor Silas said he was "totally against raising fees," but asked about specific items such as the animal waste storage fee. Supervisor Schubert argued fees fund necessary staffing: "If you look at this department as a business, these fees are going to pay for something." The Planning and Zoning fee resolution passed 17-1. The separate resolution to create the building inspector position was approved; the director said the new position will be trained by the current inspector.
Ending: The board forwarded the revised fee schedule and the inspector position into effect planning, with the fee changes slated for Jan. 1, 2026; the county will monitor the fee-funded program and has authority to eliminate the position if fee revenue falls short.
