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Council approves moving forward on revised building permit fees after split roll-call vote
Summary
Union County Council voted to authorize attorneys to draft an amendment to Ordinance 284 to update building permit fees (including lowering the proposed minimum from $125 to $50); the motion passed 3–1 with two abstentions. The vote authorizes legal work to prepare a formal ordinance but is not final fee adoption.
Union County Council voted June 17 to proceed with drafting an amendment to Ordinance 284 that would update building permit fees in the county. The action authorizes the county to pay attorneys to prepare the ordinance; it does not itself set final fee amounts.
Councilman John Glenn had requested that the minimum permit fee presented at the May meeting be adjusted downward from $125 to $50. Chairman Phillip Russell explained the new schedule would reference an ICC value-per-square-foot (VBD) schedule and that Union County intends to use 75% of that value when assigning a building’s valuation and corresponding permit bracket. "The intent of the change in fee is that the Building Code office will be covering their use of expenses," Chairman Russell said.
Councilman Danny Bright said he was opposed to raising permit fees in principle and requested a roll-call vote. The roll call on the procedural motion to move forward and retain attorneys produced the following votes by district: District 1 (Danny Bright): No; District 2 (John Glenn): Yes; District 3 (David Sinclair): Abstain; District 4 (Annie Smith): Yes; District 5 (Carolyn Rutherford): Abstain; District 6 (John Flood): Yes. The motion carried with three members voting in favor, one opposed and two abstentions.
Council members discussed comparison rates in surrounding counties and Chairman Russell said he would provide comparative data to colleagues. The vote authorizes only the drafting step; a future first reading and subsequent public readings are required before any fee schedule takes effect.
Sources: Union County Council meeting minutes, June 17, 2025.
