The Fremont County Commissioners will conduct a public hearing at their January 10th board meeting on proposed increases to the fee schedules for zoning and subdivision applications and services through the Fremont County Planning and Zoning Department. The proposed fee increases stem from a comprehensive study of time and services that the staff in the Planning Department performs in connection with each application. The study was conducted over the past several months by Eric Parish of Public Resource Management Group (PRM) of Denver.
The study was conducted to identify the true cost of fee related activities ensuring a clear relationship between the cost of the service and the fees that are charged. PRM looked at actual costs of time spent on applications in the Planning and Zoning Office in fiscal year 2004 and looked at 2004 and 2005 volumes of activity in the office. The fee schedule as proposed by the Board of Commissioners is intended to reflect a rate of 90 percent of the actual costs shown in the study. The Commissioners chose a 90 percent cost level to allow for any minor discrepancies in time calculations.
The Board of Commissioners believes the fee increases are necessary because it’s important that developers, companies, and individuals who create the demand for subdivision and zoning services are the ones who pay the cost of the county providing those services.
The proposed fee increases are expected to generate an additional $81,000 in revenue for the Planning and Zoning Department budget in 2006. The Commissioners say that means the additional revenue from fees will free up tax dollars in the general fund which can be used to provide services that benefit all taxpayers.
The proposed fee schedules for both zoning and subdivision applications are available for public review on the Fremont County website’s Planning and Zoning Department page at www.fremontco.com. Click on the link for ‘Proposed Zoning and Subdivision Fees’ or on ‘News Release’ to review the lists. Copies for review can also be obtained at the Planning and Zoning Department in Room 210 on the second floor of the County Administration Building at 605 Macon in Cañon City.
