Increases intended to cover added staff costs

BY KEVIN BONESKE

REPORTER/PHOTOGRAPHER

After being delayed for more review by Oneida County’s Planning and Development Committee, a series of fee increases is being forwarded from the committee to the full County Board to raise more revenue for offsetting additional personnel costs this year in the planning and zoning department.

Committee members discussed the proposed fee hikes at Wednesday’s meeting with assistant planning and zoning director Pete Wegner. Upon approval Feb. 20 by the County Board, the fee increases would take effect April 1.

The committee initially intended to have the hikes take effect the first of the year to generate an estimated additional $158,371 in revenue for 2018, had they been presented to the County Board for approval at its December meeting.

Though the charge for a conditional use permit (CUP) would increase by $100 to $600, committee members discussed the possibility of having smaller projects where a CUP is now required instead only have an administrative review permit (ARP), for which the fee is remaining at $250.

“I’m in favor that we push some of those small CUPs into an ARP, and if a town wants to force it into a CUP, then the town can request it,” said committee chairman Scott Holewinski.

“That’s something we’ll have to deal with down the road,” added Wegner.

The fee hikes sought with zoning permits issued include an increase of 6 cents per square foot in permits issued for dwelling units, which have a minimum fee of $75 and an increase per square foot from 14 to 20 cents.

The zoning permits for commercial structures, including apartment buildings and duplexes, would also increase by 6 cents per square foot, while permits for accessory buildings and pole buildings would increase by 5 cents per square foot.

The permit fee would also change for boathouses from 20 cents per square foot to a flat fee of $500.

The proposed sanitary fee increases include the fees for a holding tank, conventional sewage system, in-ground pressurized system and mound or at-grade system all increasing by $100. The holding tank permit is presently $425 with the conventional sewage system permit $300 and the in-ground pressurized system and mound or at-grade system permits now costing $410.

The fee for planning and zoning staff to conduct an onsite inspection as requested by the public would double to $250 as would the fee for each return inspection with no credit given toward a permit fee.

Appeals to the county’s Board of Adjustment would increase from $500 to $750 with the rescheduling of an appeal rising from $350 to $500.

The fee for any individual or corporation to file a petition for an ordinance amendment would increase by $100 to $600. The practice of not charging a fee to a town filing a petition for an ordinance amendment would continue.

The proposed fee increases do not require holding a public hearing prior to being acted on by the full County Board.