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Selectboard weighs higher building permit fees; authorizes inspector to take town vehicle home
Summary
Building Inspector Bentley Herget proposed separating and raising building, plumbing and electrical permit fees to make the department self-supporting; the board authorized him to take the inspector vehicle home for on-call response and equipment access and asked him to return a draft fee schedule on Dec. 23.
The Town of Brookline Selectboard on Dec. 9 discussed a comprehensive overhaul of the town’s building-permit fee schedule and approved a request allowing the building inspector to take a town vehicle home.
Bentley Herget urged the board to separate current bundled fees — for example, the single fee for new-home building and electrical work — into distinct line items for building, plumbing and electrical permits, and to raise several fees. "We should make the Building Department self-supporting," Herget said, arguing that current fees are very low and that commercial projects are not being charged separate electrical fees. He also said septic permits appear on the town website but are handled by the state and should be removed from the town fee schedule or explicitly added to the Cloudpermit dropdown.
Town Administrator Paul Branscombe advised Herget to consult the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services on septic final-inspection responsibility. Selectboard Chair Eddie Arnold reminded members that any fee changes must go through the public hearing process.
On a separate, immediate action, the board approved a motion to allow Herget to take the inspector vehicle home so he can respond to on-call calls and access equipment; the motion passed by roll call vote, 5–0. Herget told the board he will draft a proposed fee schedule and outline how changes would affect contractors, homeowners and the town for the Dec. 23 meeting.
The board did not approve any fee changes at the Dec. 9 meeting; members directed staff to place the proposed schedule on the Dec. 23 agenda and to publish required public-hearing notices before any fee changes take effect.
