Harrington adopts master fee schedule, staff to study select fees ahead of budget season

The Harrington City Commission voted to adopt a consolidated master fee schedule ordinance as presented, putting the city’s fees into a single document while not increasing rates immediately. A motion to adopt the ordinance passed by voice vote after a staff presentation.

A city staff member who introduced the ordinance said the change “condenses [fees] into one document” and allows future changes to be made by resolution instead of separate ordinances. “As the ordinance is written and as the fee schedule is written, there’s no increases from the existing,” the staff member said.

Commissioners discussed which fees to review sooner rather than later. Several members flagged cemetery site fees and water tap charges as candidates for early review. The staff presentation recommended a comprehensive review during next year’s budget season, with the possibility of targeted updates sooner if needed. The staff member said a comprehensive update could be approved in 2026 with implementation possibly in 2027.

Commissioners asked staff to research whether certain fees recover costs, noting factors such as rising labor and materials costs. “Do we want to at least get to a point where we’re breaking even on that, for example?” the staff member asked when discussing tap fees.

The ordinance’s adoption organizes the city’s fee structure and gives the commission a streamlined mechanism to update fees by resolution. The commission did not set any immediate increases; staff will return with research and recommendations on specific fees ahead of budget deliberations.

What’s next: staff will research cemetery and water tap fees and provide findings to the commission during budget workshops so commissioners can consider targeted adjustments or a comprehensive fee update.