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Select Board sets April public hearing after preliminary lodging-fee study
Summary
Staff presented a lodgings fee analysis using 2022–2025 service-call and licensing data; the board scheduled a public hearing for April 7 to gather comment before any fee or ordinance change is adopted.
The Wells Select Board on March 3 voted to schedule a public hearing for April 7 to discuss a proposed lodging-fee structure informed by a staff study of direct and indirect costs.
Kathy Jean Chase, who led the subcommittee analyzing police, fire and ambulance call data, told the board staff examined calls from 2022–2025 to estimate the incremental public-safety burden attributable to short‑term lodging. Using 2025 as the most recent year and applying the permitted cost categories in the guiding court decision, staff estimated an additional per‑unit impact of roughly $12.54 for hotels and motels and about $6.49 per campsite for campgrounds. Those figures are preliminary and reflect direct operating and inspection costs; staff said they would vet indirect and fully absorbed overhead allocations before finalizing a per‑unit proposal.
Planning and code staff separately modeled the licensing and inspection workload: average annual new-license processing, renewal processing, registry inspections and complaint-driven site inspections were included in the cost model. Staff reported approximately 299 lodging units and 3,644 campground sites in the town for the calculations used in the draft model.
Board members emphasized the need to comply with state law and a court framework that limits what cost components can be included. The board directed staff to complete the indirect-cost calculations, confirm legal compliance, and publish a clear packet of evidence before the April 7 public hearing so businesses and residents can comment.
Next steps: staff will complete overhead calculations, circulate the full cost model for departmental review and present the analysis at the April 7 public hearing at 6:00 p.m., 208 Sanford Road.
