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Jefferson County narrows and adopts consolidated fee schedule after department clarifications
Summary
After weeks of drafting and a public hearing, commissioners removed a broad countywide fee clause and adopted Resolution 2026-18, approving department fee schedules with narrower exceptions and directing further exhibit edits and annual review.
At a public hearing, Jefferson County commissioners adopted Resolution 2026-18, a consolidated countywide fee schedule that collects department fees into a single, annually reviewable document — after removing a broadly worded ‘‘countywide applicable’’ clause that several commissioners and department heads said would cause public confusion.
Chase, who helped draft the consolidated schedule, told commissioners staff found many fees that ‘‘were never properly adopted’’ and that putting them on one document would make annual reviews and legal advertising easier. "So a number of reasons probably precipitated this situation," Chase said during the presentation, explaining the intent to bring all departments' fee lines into a single exhibit that can be edited by department when needed. Commissioners pressed for clarity on several items, including an appeal fee and credit-card processing language that some department heads said should remain specific to their offices.
After extended discussion the board voted to delete the broad countywide-applicability note for appeals and refunds and to keep a narrowed set of countywide entries (notably the return-check fee and conditional credit-card handling where departments lack a policy). The board tabled the hearing briefly to let staff prepare a cleaned Exhibit A and then reconvened later in the meeting to adopt Resolution 2026-18 with the agreed edits. The resolution passed by roll call vote; the board directed staff to publish the final exhibit and to perform annual reviews of departmental fees going forward.
What it means: The change gives departments a single reference for existing fees and a process for updates while preserving department-level discretion for specialized charges. Commissioners emphasized they can waive fees case-by-case and asked staff to make the exhibit language clearer for the public. The resolution and the final Exhibit A will be posted with the county’s records and are effective immediately as adopted.
