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KITTITAS COUNTY <br />DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS <br />PUBLIC WORKS -- BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS <br />STUDY SESSION STAFF REPORT <br />STUDY SESSION DATE: January 11, 2021 <br />TOPIC: Public Works Permit Fee Review <br />ACTION REQUESTED: None Required <br />LEAD STAFF: <br />Mark R. Cook and Liz Remeto <br />RECOMMENDATION: <br />Informational briefing only. <br />BRIEFING SUMMARY: <br />• Public Works (PW) fee schedule was adopted in 2017 <br />• Fees were typically set at 25% of calculated costs <br />• PW permit fees have been averaging approximately $250,000 per year since 2017 <br />• PW staffing changes in 2018 committed $100,000 of sustainable permit revenue <br />towards offsetting the cost of new positions in the department: <br />(Environmental/Transportation Planner) <br />• PW fees have not been re-evaluated since adoption in 2017 <br />• PW is currently evaluating all fees along with our internal permit processes and <br />will return to brief the Board of our results by February 22, 2021 <br />BACKGROUND: <br />Kittitas County utilized a consultant developing a fee model for use by all departments of <br />the Board in 2016. Permit fees were adopted for use in PW in 2017. The Board of <br />County Commissioners (BoCC) set fees typically at 25% of forecasted total cost. Since <br />adoption, PW annual permit fees average approximately $250,000 per year. Permit fees <br />have not been reviewed since adoption in 2017. <br />DISCUSSION: <br />As PW prepares outreach efforts in 2021 defining critical funding shortfalls <br />implementing the deferred maintenance needs of roads and bridges over the next twenty <br />years, it seems prudent to revisit PW permit fees in advance of the outreach effort. PW <br />staff have been diligent tracking true costs of most permits while failing to track true <br />costs of other permits. PW management is currently reviewing all permit processes <br />responding to poor tracking performance on some permits. The goal is to reduce the <br />amount of job cost coding that is the likely cause of poor cost tracking. Some permit cost <br />tracking is good, and these permit fees are being targeted for adjustment (meaning current <br />funding level is not covering the true cost). Once a thorough review is completed by PW <br />Page 1 of 3 <br />Public Works "Work Session Staff Report", 2021 <br />