Proposed fee changes could increase revenues for Texarkana, Ark., by about $80,000 a year, Public Works Director Jeff Whitten said Wednesday.
Whitten presented a comprehensive list of new or increased fees to members of the city Board of Directors during a workshop meeting in City Hall.
The recommendations update a wide variety of fees that have not been changed for at least five years. City Manager Kenny Haskin characterized the proposed changes as "cost of doing business adjustments" meant to recoup city expenses that have increased over that time.
Whitten said the change with "the biggest impact" would be to base the cost of new residential building permits on square footage rather than on construction cost.
The proposal is to charge a fee of 30 cents per square foot for new residential building permits.
"We did not take this lightly," Whitten said, citing his staff's study of building permitting in Fort Smith, Fayetteville and Jonesboro in Arkansas, as well as Texarkana, Greenville, Mount Pleasant, McKinney and Frisco in Texas.
Currently, the fee is determined on a sliding scale, based on the construction cost reported by a builder when applying for a permit.
"It's their estimate, meaning the people who are coming in. It's their estimate; it's not our estimate. The question is how do we determine whether or not that's true and accurate?" Haskin said.
Whitten's analysis of 36 homes recently built in the city showed builders' reported construction costs as low as $43.86 per square foot. By contrast, the permitting process in Fort Smith, Ark., assumes construction cost of $80 per square foot, he said.
Other proposed changes include raising the street renaming application fee from $150 to as high as $1,000.
"We want to make it high enough to discourage" changing street names on a whim, Mayor Ruth Penney-Bell said.
Under the proposal, renting the lakeside pavilion at Bobby Ferguson Park, without kitchen access, would go up from $25 to $35 for one to four hours and from $50 to $60 for 16 hours. Practicing at the ballfields in Hobo Jungle Park would cost $15 for one to two hours or $25 for three to four hours.
Demolition permit fees would change to encourage faster work. Replacing a $50 fee for a six-month permit, the city would charge $50 for a 60-day permit and $100 per 30-day renewal thereafter.
The fee changes are unlikely to come before the board for a vote at its meeting Monday, but an ordinance establishing them could be prepared by the next board meeting May 1. Before voting on a proposed ordinance, the board must read it at three meetings and hold a public hearing.