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Planner recommends higher permit and telecom fees to cover administrative costs
Summary
County planner Austin Burgess proposed updates to the community development fee schedule — raising the base permit fee, adding a commercial review fee and increasing telecom application fees — to better align permit revenue with administrative costs.
Austin Burgess, who told the board he had reviewed fees since starting in December, said many of the department's fees had not been updated for years and need adjustment to cover administrative costs. "My goal with this was to kinda get our department operating at a net 0," Burgess said, explaining fee increases reflect higher costs for signage, reviews and consultant work.
Key proposed adjustments Burgess highlighted include increasing the base permit fee from $75 to $100 (a $25 increase), adding a $100 commercial review fee to cover time‑intensive plan checks, and revising telecommunications fees so an administrative review would cost $150 with a specific new building-permit fee of $500 for new tower construction (modifications would use a lower administrative fee). Burgess said consultants charge $425 to review structural reports for cell-tower modifications and the administrative fee helps cover staff time, inspections and related costs.
Burgess said the fire marshal and other department representatives were available to answer technical questions, and staff planned to bring the amended fee schedule back for board action at the evening meeting.
