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Borough board to review application and escrow fees after members say current amounts are insufficient
Summary
Board members agreed to analyze three years of applications and escrow collections and form a subcommittee to propose revised fees—current cited escrow amounts: engineering $1,500, planning $2,000, legal $1,500.
Board members said current escrow amounts are out of date and asked staff to prepare samples and calculations for a revised fee schedule. Council liaison (speaker 8) summarized typical escrow breakdowns: engineering $1,500, planning $2,000 and legal $1,500 and said professionals are not being adequately compensated under the existing schedule.
"When people are putting forth developments or variances, the amount that we're collecting as a town put into escrow for engineering is 1,500, for planning is 2,000, for legal is 1,500, and that just isn't enough by today's standards to keep the professionals afloat," the liaison said. The board directed staff to review the prior three years of applications and collections, convene a small committee to recommend a fee proposal and prepare an ordinance for council consideration if changes are needed.
Why it matters: higher or tiered escrows could increase permit costs for applicants but protect municipal review capacity and ensure consultants are paid for required technical reviews.
