Kane County considers increasing building, permit fees
Construction costs in Kane County will increase as county board members signaled Tuesday they would raise building permit fees to help bring in new revenue that doesn't come from taxes.
The county last raised its building and other permit fees in 2004 when new construction and property values were on a steady uptick. Recent economic indicators show new construction should rise again in 2018, though not to the levels seen before the housing bubble.
That presents an opportunity for the county to capitalize by charging more for the services it provides to ensure all construction has the proper zoning and required safety standards.
The county board's development committee agreed now is the time to increase the fees.
"Most of the fees we charge that I saw are in the area of $50," board member T.R. Smith said. "In 2004, $50 may have been a lot of money. Nowadays, $50 is about what I carry in my pocket, which is not a lot. I would be in favor of increasing these fees."
The debate centered on the best way to figure out what the new fees should be. Committee Chairman Kurt Kojzarek backed an option to hire an outside consultant to compare the existing prices to neighboring counties' prices and determine what it costs the county in materials and staff time to issue permits.
"If we're going to do this, I want to do it right," Kojzarek said. "I don't want to just throw a dart at the wall to determine a percentage."
The rest of the committee was leery of the cost of a consultant eliminating any benefit gained by raising the fees. Elgin paid about $32,000 to hire a fee consultant, the county staff said.
County board member Phil Lewis has pushed for permit fee increases ever since tight county budgets began fueling discussions about cutbacks to services. Lewis said the county should save money and use the experts it already has to create a fee comparison.
He was also one of the most vocal critics of a mandated services study the county used an outside consultant to produce. The results of the study also suggested raising the permit and review fees.
"It's a manageable exercise for our staff to collect information from adjoining counties and local municipalities within Kane County," Lewis said. "The development department has the capacity to put together a spreadsheet that could give us a comparative analysis on this subject."
Development director Mark VanKerkhoff said his staff could do the comparison, at least for the largest permit fees. A crucial part of the comparison may also involve finding out when local municipalities and neighboring counties last updated their fees and why. That part may require some outside help.
VanKerkhoff and the committee agreed to get a cost estimate of what an outside consultant would charge to compile any other information the board might want to make a decision.
The development department will return with its report in January or February. That keeps the county on track to raise the fees ahead of spring construction.