Ark Valley News - Kechi council approves changes to fee schedule

Kechi council approves changes to fee schedule
By David Dinell
Last Updated: June 04, 2015

Those doing business with the city of Kechi could face higher fees as the city council passed a resolution May 28 increasing selected charges.

The reason for the change, officials say, is a tight fiscal picture as property values remain static and the cost of services climb.

Examining the fee schedule and increasing charges when possible is one way to cover costs, said Nicole Bailey, the city's finance director and treasurer.

The new fees, which take effect July 1, came out of an April 30 workshop.

"Periodic revision of the fee resolution is prudent," Bailey wrote in a document submission to the council.

The city has not raised court fees or contractor license charges since 2009.

Many of the new fees, which are projected to increase revenues by about $25,000 in the general fund, come in the areas of municipal court and contractor licenses.

In 2014, Kechi received $32,784 in municipal court fees and $10,267 in contractor licenses. With the new schedule, municipal court fees are projected to be $50,000 a year and contractor licenses are estimated to be $18,000 annually.

While the request was no surprise, council member Brian Adams expressed reservations about them, wondering if the city would get more for each fee, but less business overall with the new charges for the building trades.

"Contractors will not want to work in Kechi," Adams said. "This is like a franchise fee."

City Administrator Bob Conger disagreed and said that contractors are not going to "let $150 stand in the way" of taking on a project.

Conger and Bailey said that they examined what fees other cities in the area have and determined that Kechi was undercharging contractors.

Ten contractors' license fees were increased, with eight of them going from $150 to $300. Also, a Class B contractor's license increased from $255 to $375 and a Class A license from $300 to $450.

All are good for three years.

The money goes for inspections and other costs related to code certification. Most bigger contractors buy their licenses on a regular basis and consider them a cost of doing business, Bailey said.