Cd'A mulls fee increases

COEUR d'ALENE — Fees for some city services may be going up in Coeur d’Alene.

A public hearing will be held Jan. 17 for the city council and mayor to consider fee changes proposed by multiple departments. The changes include the addition of charges under the city’s new parking scofflaw ordinance, a hike in the design review fee charged by the planning department and a change to water hookup fees.

The proposed fees are to assist in covering the cost of administration and materials necessary to provide the services, states the city’s announcement of the public hearing. A complete list of the suggested changes can be viewed here: bit.ly/2hNZjqw.

Municipal Services Director Renata McLeod said the addition of the fees associated with the scofflaw ordinance, as well as mobile vendor permits, triggered a deeper look at all city departments to see if any other fees need to be adjusted or added.

"We might start doing this on an annual basis," McLeod said. "We want to get all the information that we could get together and really look at the fees."

The scofflaw ordinance fee proposals include a $10 administrative charge to those whose vehicles are booted, a $45 charge for placing the boot on the vehicle, and a $65 fee to have the boot removed.

Many of the proposed changes are not increases to fees, rather clarification of the language to better reflect the services provided. Other changes, according to McLeod, add fees to the master list that are already being used, but do not appear on the list.

In the city’s planning department, three items will be added to the fee schedule that are currently used but previously did not appear on the list. The fee associated with design review has also been updated from $100 per Design Review Commission meeting to a flat rate of $400.

Community Planning Director Hilary Anderson told The Press Tuesday that change was suggested to make up for staff time required to prepare for the meetings. She added other planning department services like the issuance of a special use permit already cost $400.

"We wanted to equalize it," Anderson added.

The Jan. 17 public hearing, which offers citizens the opportunity to speak to the council regarding the proposed fee changes, will take place at 6 p.m. in the community room of the Coeur d'Alene Public Library, 702 E. Front Ave.