New fees suggested for Village of Colfax

By LeAnn R. Ralph

COLFAX —  It has apparently been a while since the fee schedule was adjusted for the Village of Colfax.

During the Colfax Village Board’s budget discussion October 29, Jackie Ponto, administrator clerk-treasurer, included a schedule of fee adjustments for board members to consider that were suggested by Kathy Morse, interim clerk-treasurer.

 

Morse served as the interim clerk-treasurer since shortly after the death of John Jahr in November of 2010 until late this past summer, when Ponto was hired for the position.

Fees currently in place with no suggested changes include $2 for a cat; $5 for a spayed or neutered dog; $8 for an intact dog; $36.50 for a kennel license for less than 12 dogs; $10 for up to eight chickens; $15 for bartender operator’s provisional license for 60 days (the state maximum); $25 for a natural lawn; $25 for a mobile home deposit; $100 for a mobile home court of one to 50 lots; $100 for a mobile home court for an additional fraction of 100 lots. The suggested charge is $25 for a mobile home court license transfer. The current charge is $10.

Here are some of the suggestions for fee increases:

• Bartender operator’s license for one year — currently the fee is $10; the suggested charge is $25.

• Bartender operator’s license for two years (new fee) —  currently the village does not have a two-year license. The suggested charge is $40.

• Temporary bartender operator’s license for an outdoor event — currently the fee is $10 per event; the suggested charge is $25 per event.

• Transient merchant license — currently the fee is $10 per investigation per person; $50 for an annual license; $5 per person per day. The suggestion is to eliminate the investigation, annual and per person licenses and change the fee to $75 for a transient merchant license for one year.

• Tobacco license — currently the fee is $5 per license for one year. The suggested charge is $100 (state maximum per license) for one year.

• Tobacco license for a special event vendor — currently the fee is $5 per day. The suggested charge is $25 per day.

• Blasting — currently the fee is $10. The suggested charge is $25.

• Gravel crushing — currently the fee is $10 for 30 days. The suggested charge is $25 for 30 days.

• “Class A” liquor license — currently the fee is $50 per year. The suggested charge is $500 (state maximum) per year.

• Class “A” beer license — currently the fee is $10 per year. The suggested charge is $100 (state maximum) per year.

• The “Class B” combination license is currently set at the state maximum of $500 per year, and the Class “B” beer license also is set at the state maximum of $100.

• “Class C” wine license — currently the license is $200 per year. The suggested charge is $100, which is the state maximum.

• Change of agent — the Village of Colfax currently does not have a “change of agent” fee, and the suggested fee is $25.

Construction permits

• Shingles — currently the fee is $5. The suggested charge is $25 for shingles over $1,000 in value.

• Deck — currently the fee is $5. The suggested charge is $25 for a deck over $1,000 in value.

• Siding — currently the fee is $5. The suggested charge is $25 for siding over $1,000 in value.

• Fence — Colfax does not currently charge a fee for a fence construction permit. The suggested fee is $25 for a fence valued at over $1,000.

• Sign — the current fee for a sign is $20; the suggested charge is $25.

• Rezoning, driveway and planned unit development application (PUD) fees are currently set at $25 and there is no suggested change.

• Residential additions, remodels and accessory buildings — currently Colfax charges a fee of $10 for a general construction permit for a project up to $10,000 and $1 per $1,000 of value over $10,000. The suggested fee is $25 per permit and 10 cents per square foot.

• Commercial additions, remodels and accessory buildings — currently Colfax does not charge a fee strictly for commercial building projects. The suggested charge is $50 per permit and 15 cents per square foot.

• Residential/commercial new construction — currently the village does not charge a permit fee and is suggesting a fee of the “actual cost” for the construction permit.

• Plumbing and electrical — the suggested charge is $25 for a base fee for plumbing; $5 per plumbing fixture; $25 for an electrical base fee permit.

Copies and reports

• Photo copies — the village currently charges 25 cents per copy (includes sales tax). No change is suggested.

• Fax — the village currently charges $1 per page to fax. No change is suggested.

• Special assessment search/written responses for title companies — the village currently does not charge a fee. The suggested fee is $25 per search.

• Non-sufficient funds for checks (NSF) — the village currently does not charge a fee. The suggested check-handling fee is $30 per check.

• Tax exempt reports — the village currently does not charge a fee. The suggested charge is $25 for a report per parcel. The suggested charge is $100 maximum per property owner.

Parks

No changes are suggested for park fees.

Currently the village charges $5 per night for overnight camping; $100 for a facility rental deposit per event; $30 for facility rental per building per day.

Streets

• Weeds/tall grass cutting — currently the village does not charge. The suggested charge is $122 for up to the first 30 minutes and $15 for each additional 15 minutes.

• Sidewalk ice and snow removal — currently the village does not charge. The suggested fee is $132 for up to the first 30 minutes; $35 for each additional 15 minutes.

• Right-of-way — currently the village charges $5 per project for right-of-way excavation. The suggested charge is $25 per project plus village costs.

• Street privilege — currently the village charges $5 per event. The suggested fee is $25 per event.