COLUMBUS, Ind. — Bartholomew County commissioners have approved increasing building permit fees and are providing new guidelines for securing abandoned buildings.
Both requests emerged from the Department of Technical Code Enforcement of Columbus/Bartholomew County
There has not been an increase in building permit fees in Bartholomew County since 1999, Chief Code Enforcement Officer Michelle Cox said.
Although the public was given two weeks to provide feedback, as well as two separate public hearings, Cox and the county commissioners said they have heard nothing regarding the proposals.
Permits pertaining to commercial, industrial or multiple-family structures have 22 separate rate increases, while proposals regarding residential structures have 20 different hikes in permit fees.
In order to determine the new charges, Cox said she and her staff used the cost of building permits fees in all surrounding counties. Bartholomew County uses the midpoint of what is charged in neighboring counties, Cox said.
Earlier this month, Cox said she was unaware local building permit fees have been lower than in surrounding communities until a contractor brought it to her attention.
The increased cost for permits for new building construction, improvements, expansions and inspections will go into effect Oct 1.
For more on this story, see Wednesday’s Republic.
