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Committee narrows fee-waiver proposal to waive septic reconnect permits for tornado-impacted properties
Summary
After debate about scope and fairness, the committee amended staff's proposed temporary fee waiver to limit it to county reconnect permits for operational on-site wastewater systems, then voted to forward the amended resolution to the County Board.
The Marathon County Environmental Resources Committee on May 5 debated a staff proposal to waive certain county-controlled zoning and private on-site wastewater (POUT) fees for properties damaged in severe weather on April 17 and ultimately voted to forward a narrowed resolution to the full County Board.
CPZ Director Lori Mskimmons told the committee the county could only waive fees it controls and cannot waive state-mandated fees or guarantee permits. "The only thing we can consider are the fees that the county controls," she said, adding that county staff recommended limiting any waiver to one year from County Board approval and using the county emergency-management damage-assessment list (or a staff-reviewed self-certification) to determine eligibility.
Committee members pressed staff on which fees would be eligible. Shad Harvey (land resource manager) explained the county's reconnect permit for reattaching a surviving sewage system to a rebuilt house currently carries a $160 county fee, which could be waived; by contrast, a full new mound system permit generally includes a $100 state portion that cannot be waived and a small county portion (about $5.95) that could be waived but would not eliminate state charges.
Several supervisors raised fairness concerns about where to draw geographic or eligibility lines. Supervisor Drew asked "where do we draw the line in the future" for similar disasters; staff said the governor's emergency declaration provided an objective trigger in this case. After debate, Supervisor Drebeck moved an amendment to limit the waiver to reconnect fees only; Supervisor Kurt seconded the amendment. The committee adopted the amendment on a voice vote and then voted to forward the amended resolution (waiving county reconnect fees for eligible properties for a limited period) to the County Board; the motion passed but was not unanimous.
Staff and administration emphasized the waiver would not relieve property owners of state fees, register-of-deeds charges, replacement-address materials, nor would it guarantee permit approval. If the County Board approves the resolution, the county's zoning and POUT staff would implement eligibility screening and process waived reconnect permits on a case-by-case basis.
