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Bridgeport raises business license fee, approves St. John permit discount and several routine measures
Summary
The Bridgeport Borough Council approved Resolution 2026-36 updating the fee schedule (including raising the business license fee from $35 to $50 and authorizing council to waive permit fees for institutions), approved a 30% permit-fee reduction for St. John the Baptist for HVAC work, and passed several routine resolutions including a hauler agreement and a $40,886.93 pension distribution.
The Bridgeport Borough Council on June 23 approved a package of administrative and routine measures, including a change to the borough fee schedule and a 30% permit-fee reduction for St. John the Baptist.
Staff described Resolution 2026-36 as making three main changes: giving Borough Council authority to grant partial or full permit‑fee waivers for institutional uses such as churches, schools and nonprofits; raising the annual business license fee from $35 to $50; and relabeling certain zoning compliance reviews as zoning permits with minor fee adjustments. "The purpose to this resolution is making a few minor amendments to the fee schedule," Mr. Truman said. Council voted to approve the fee-schedule amendments by voice vote.
Separately, the council considered a fee‑waiver request from St. John the Baptist for work on its former school building (parcel identified in discussion as the school building/map parcel 504). After discussion, council approved a motion to grant a 30% reduction off the permit fee. Trisha Buckman, parish secretary for St. John the Baptist, told the council the work is limited to the school building's HVAC system; she said the parish has spent as much as $20,000 a year on steam-pipe leak repairs and that financing for the project was expected to close later in the summer. Resident Bob De Morat asked which buildings were involved; Buckman confirmed the school building.
The council also approved several routine resolutions and administrative items by voice vote: Resolution 2026-37 to re-execute a hauler's agreement with Gray Brothers Septic (staff said the agreement previously lapsed after Hurricane Ida), authorization to release accrued pension contributions totaling $40,886.93 to beneficiaries of former bureau employees, Resolution 2026-38 to create a new bank account for commercial tenant security deposits, Resolution 2026-39 updating the authorized administrative liaison between Berkemeyer Associates and the borough, and approval of bills and salaries for June 2026. Each measure carried after motions, seconds and voice votes recorded in the transcript.
What happens next: staff will implement the fee-schedule changes administratively and process the St. John permit with the 30% reduction; the Gray Brothers agreement and other resolutions will be executed per the borough's normal contracting and financial procedures.
