Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Municipal Finance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Fielding council discusses building-permit and rental fee changes, dog-tag rates to increase revenue
Summary
Council members reviewed multiple potential revenue sources — building permit fees, a county rooftop charge, Civic Center rental rates and dog-tag fees — and directed staff to add building-permit and impact-fee proposals to the next agenda.
Fielding council members spent substantial time discussing options to increase municipal revenue, including raising building-permit fees, creating impact fees for new homes, updating Civic Center rental rates, and enforcing dog licensing.
Council members said the town currently keeps a small administrative fee for permits and that most permit revenue flows to the county. One council member said the town currently keeps “like $50” as an administrative fee and recommended the town push for larger retained shares for residential building permits. “We need to get a thousand dollars out of every building permit or $1,500 for a house,” a council member (Speaker 6) said, arguing the town must capture more of the cost of growth to cover roads, parks and public safety.
Town staff and council discussed legal and procedural constraints for impact fees. A staff member cited state code guidance and said the town would need to show evidence of impact if it pursued statutory impact fees rather than a simple flat permit surcharge.
On facility rental rates, staff proposed raising Civic Center rental fees to better cover operating costs. The council agreed to a new fee schedule effective July 3: residents, $100 for a full day and $50 for a half day; nonresidents, $150 for a full day and $75 for a half day. Council members said changes will be posted and honored for bookings after that date.
Animal-control and facility-use charges were also discussed. The town’s dog-tag price was discussed and a staff estimate of about $8.60 per tag was mentioned; the council noted the need to enforce licensing and consider higher kennel or commercial dog fees.
Council members directed staff to research legal requirements for impact fees, to prepare a draft building-permit fee schedule (including suggested minimums), and to place the issue on the next meeting agenda for public hearing and possible adoption.
