Elbert County staff propose cuts to accessory-structure permit fees and changes to plan-review and contractor licensing

Elbert County building department staff told county commissioners in a work-study session that they are considering targeted reductions to permit and plan-review fees intended to lower costs for homeowners building accessory structures such as pole barns, storage sheds and greenhouses.

Staff said the proposal would apply a 25% modifier to the ICC-based “Group U” (accessory structure) permit-fee line, cutting the current price per square foot from $66.48 to $49.86 as an example. They also proposed moving the county’s residential-fee calculations to the 2024 International Residential Code (IRC) fee table and discussed flattening several interior remodel and basement finish line items to a single, lower flat fee.

The proposals are aimed at making small home projects less costly for residents while preserving the county’s overall fee structure. Building staff emphasized the measures would target only the Group U category and would not change fees for larger, more complex projects.

County staff explained how the 25% modifier could be applied directly to the valuation formula the county currently uses. Under the existing formula the permit valuation for the first $100,000 is $993.75 plus $5.60 for every additional $1,000; staff showed that applying a 25% reduction would lower the first-$100,000 amount to about $745.31 and reduce the per-thousand increment to roughly $4.20. Staff presented this as an illustrative calculation of how the modifier would change permit fees for valuations between $100,000 and $500,000.

On plan-review fees staff noted the county currently charges 65% of the building permit fee for plan review for all categories. Commissioners raised examples from the public in which a simple engineered plan costing $500 drew a $900 plan-review charge under the 65% rule. Staff proposed two alternate plan-review scenarios specifically for Group U: setting plan review at 50% of the permit fee or at 35% of the permit fee. Staff said moving to 50% would reduce the plan-review portion in the sample poll-barn scenario by roughly $200; 35% would reduce it by about $400.

Commissioners and staff also discussed contractor licensing fees, which were set by the board in January 2024 and currently range from $100–$125 for an annual registration. Staff said the staggered licensing system used during 2024 could be simplified to a uniform annual renewal. Commissioners asked whether the fee is accomplishing its original goal of discouraging fly-by-night contractors and whether most licensees are in-county or from outside; staff said the county does not yet have a precise breakdown but estimated at least half are in-county. Commissioners discussed halving the fee as a possible option; staff estimated a 50% reduction would lower annual county receipts from contractor licensing by roughly $30,000.

Fiscal context: staff provided 2025 departmental budget figures showing roughly $1.5 million in building department expenses and $2.6 million in projected fee revenue; staff estimated that the specific permit-fee adjustments discussed would reduce revenue by about $265,000 but said other staffing and contracting changes could offset some of that impact (staff estimated possible annual savings of about $200,000 by reducing contract services as positions are brought in-house). Staff also warned that permit activity has slowed year-to-date and that actual revenue impacts depend on permit volume.

No formal vote was taken on the fee changes during the work-study session. Staff said they will return with refined options and calculations and recommended the board consider whether to adopt the 2024 IRC fee table now or to phase fee-table updates on future calendar dates (staff suggested January 1 of subsequent years as a trigger for switching to the next year’s table).

"The current price per square foot for group u, $66.48, on the current ICC table that we're using, that would lower that figure to $49.86," building department staff said while presenting the proposal. "If you were all to consider reducing that, it could go down to $700 or $500 as opposed to $900" for the sample pole-barn plan-review scenario.

Staff asked commissioners for direction on the categories to examine further and said they would provide more granular budget and revenue modeling at a future meeting.

The board did not vote on any fee ordinance during the session; any change to the county’s fee schedule would require formal board action at a future public meeting.