Red Hook trustees adopt amended fee schedule, scale back some proposed jumps for building and solar permits

Trustees voted to adopt an amended annual fee schedule after a public hearing and discussion about specific line items in the building, planning and sewer sections.

Trustee Perry led the board through a series of moderated amendments to the draft schedule, arguing some proposed per-square-foot increases were too large to implement immediately. "That's a very big jump and I would like to propose that we take an interim step and go to 55 cents a square foot and $150 minimum," Perry said when proposing changes for residential construction permits. The board accepted similar interim increases for decks and accessory structures and reduced the proposed commercial increment from the originally proposed rate.

The adopted package also included corrections flagged by staff: the sewer pre-treatment entry should list four pumpouts (not three) and a proposed pumpout charge was updated to $235 per 1,000 gallons to reflect actual contractor costs. The property-maintenance section now explicitly authorizes a fee when the village completes a municipal mowing, trash removal or snow/ice clearing after outreach to a property owner.

Why it matters: the fee schedule consolidates scattered municipal charges into one annual document and gives the village a predictable mechanism to recover costs. Trustees said the step-wise increases are intended to avoid sudden financial burdens on residents and small builders while giving the village capacity to recover operating costs.

The board adopted the amended fee schedule (resolution 22) by voice vote during the meeting; the clerk will publish the updated schedule on the village web site and staff will implement the new fee lines through the building and finance offices. The board left open the option to revisit the schedule if implementation shows a need for further refinement or a future budget amendment is proposed.