Jeffrey Van Decker thinks it is time for Norway’s fee scale to be updated.
By Jim Smedley
Staff Writer

NORWAY – Thirty years ago selectmen set a fee of $1 per $1,000 of assessed value on homes as a permit fee.

Code Enforcement Officer Jeffrey Van Decker thinks it’s time for the fees to be updated.

He also favors creating a fee for renovation.

Van Decker said he likes what he calls the 10 and 5 system, meaning the charge for living space on new construction would be 10 cents per square foot and 5 cents per square foot for all other spaces.

“It’s hard to say exactly how much that would raise fees,” Van Decker said. “But in July we had $358 in fees and if we used the 10 and 5 plan we would have raised $739.

“I took a 28-foot by 50-foot ranch house with a 24-foot by 28-foot garage and under our system now the permit would be $100,” he said. “Under the 10 and 5 formula it would be $243.”

Currently, there is no permit needed for renovation. Van Decker proposes that there be no charge for renovation under $20,000. When renovation hits $20,000 a $20 charge is applied. Then another $1 per $1,000 of renovation is added, so a $25,000 renovation would require a $25 permit.

The fee would be for renovation that adds no extra square footage to a building. If the size increases the permit charge for the increase would be guided by the new construction permit charges.

He sees the method as a fair way to assess a fee and says it also helps the assessor determine value.

Van Decker told selectmen at the Aug. 7 meeting that he would monitor his new method once enacted and adjust as necessary.

He said he plans to meet with selectmen on Aug. 21 and hoped to have the language set to incorporate the permit fees into the building codes. He said he expected a public hearing would be needed and then a special town meeting before the codes could be enacted.

jsmedley@sunjournal.com

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