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Gordon County considers state‑mandated building permit fee schedule that staff says could raise fees about 30%
Summary
County staff told commissioners a new state law requires using an International Code Council valuation method, which staff says will push Gordon County’s permanent permit fees up roughly 30%; the board heard the proposal as a resolution for consideration and requested details for press and public disclosure.
County commissioners on Monday heard a staff presentation about a proposed resolution to adopt a new Gordon County building permit fee schedule required by recent state legislation.
Darren Brown, who addressed the board about the change, said earlier this year "House Bill 4601" removed local flexibility to set permit fees by ad hoc evaluation and directed counties to use either an International Code Council (ICC) valuation table or an hourly method. "In doing so, our permanent fees are gonna go up, roughly a little over 30%," Brown told the commissioners.
County staff explained the mechanics of the fee change: the fee schedule converts valuation to revenue using a multiplier based on the prior year’s fees and the cost to operate the building‑inspections office. Staff said they had limited the multiplier by excluding code enforcement, fire inspection and planning from the fee calculation to reduce the increase.
A county official told the board the fee schedule also would establish a post‑closure fund for future closure work at the county's chip/chirp pit and help create reserves to replace expensive equipment such as dozers. The official said the proposed schedule had been included in the current budget and had been made available for citizen comment; he asked staff to make facts available to the press for clear reporting.
No formal vote on the resolution is recorded in the transcript; the item was presented as a "consideration" and staff indicated the board could approve the schedule as presented or take other action at a later meeting.
The board’s discussion included questions about how Gordon County’s revised fees would compare with neighboring counties; Brown said the county would be "in the same business as Bartow, Cherokee" and others under the ICC method. Commissioners repeatedly framed the change as a response to state action rather than a local decision.
Next steps: staff provided the fee schedule (noted in meeting materials as on page 32) and the proposed resolution (page 31) for review. The transcript does not record a vote or final decision; the item remains before the board for formal action at a later meeting or on a future agenda.
