Mt. Prospect might raise building, ambulance fees

Building a home addition or calling upon an ambulance in an emergency could cost more in Mount Prospect next year as village officials continue to search for ways to boost revenues.

Village trustees this week opened talks on a variety of potential fee increases that could help fill projected deficits in future budgets. Meeting as a committee of the whole, trustees discussed fees assessed by the community development and fire departments for services such as permitting, plan review and ambulance.

Village staff is recommending the building fees be increased from $25 to a minimum of $50 per permit, for projects valued under $7,500. The fee would increase by $10 for every additional $1,000 of project value.

Officials said building permits and planning and zoning fees were last updated in 2003, and the recommended increase would bring the village closer to the average charged by surrounding communities. Community Development Director Bill Cooney said a $75 fee would cover the village's costs on the permit process.

"It comes down to a policy issue whether property taxes should subsidize that or not," he said.

Trustees and Mayor Arlene Juracek voiced concern that a $75 fee would serve as incentive to skip the permit process.

"I think $75 as a starting point is too high and is going to encourage people to try and get by without a permit, because that would apply to a shed or a fence," Juracek said.

Village staff members also recommend zoning fee increases from $100 to $250 for processing variation requests. This will cover the village's costs for notices and publications.

For ambulance service, village staff is recommending a $100 fee hike. The village, which has imposed ambulance fees since 2006, charges the Medicare rate for eligible residents and an additional $100 for nonresidents. The resident fees currently range between $367 and $631 per call. The average cost per ambulance response for the village is about $2,000.

No decisions on proposed fee hikes were made this week. At future meetings, trustee will discuss possible fee increases associated with the finance and police departments.