Union Grove could tweak service fees to match other communities
By Dave Fidlin
Correspondent
The amount Union Grove charges for various services could be tweaked in the months ahead. A village panel is currently reviewing what comparable communities are charging.
The village’s Administration and Finance Committee on April 17 began a deep dive into two separate, but related, components of assessing services to residential, commercial and industrial property owners within the community.
The village has long imposed impact fees onto new developments to help capture the cost of additional municipal services. It also has assessed fees for routine services, including permits and licenses.
Discussion of reviewing the village’s existing service fee schedule and use of impact fees first surfaced at an Administration and Finance Committee meeting in March. At the time, Trustee Gordon Svendsen, who serves on the committee, recommended the review.
Clerk-Treasurer Jill Kopp said she would reach out to her counterparts in nearby municipalities — including the villages of Rochester and Waterford — to gauge their fee rates. Kopp said she also would reach out to other clerks across the state via an online network.
Committee members reviewed how Union Grove handles impact fees at this week’s meeting, but no formal decisions or recommendations have been made at this time.
Kopp said plans call for resuming the discussion at the committee’s meeting in May.
Pages out of Union Grove’s municipal code indicate the village charges impact fees for four specific functions: fire and rescue, park facilities, the library and water service.
The amount the village charges in impact fees depends on a variety of criteria, including the classification of the property and the square footage of the establishment.
The village’s permit fee schedule was last reviewed in 2012. After five years, members of the Administration Committee have asserted a refresh of the schedule could be warranted at this time.
Union Grove’s list of permit fees are standard and are similar to the types other municipalities charge. Permit fees, for example, are required for new construction or remodels, plumbing, electric and heating, ventilation and air conditioning.
See this week’s print edition of the Westine Report for additional coverage of Monday’s meeting as well as other local news.
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