RUMFORD — After more than two decades without changes, the town is going to increase some town ordinance fees, building code permits, according to Town Manager Stacy Carter.
Following a public hearing to discuss the fee schedule on August 4, the Board of Selectmen approved the fee schedule during their regular meeting.
Carter said the selectmen had held a workshop last month about the fee schedule.
“The fees for building permits, different licenses that we have, have been the same for 20 years or more. Those fees are going to go up…There were recommendations by the board for each one. We’re going to post a public hearing because we certainly want citizen input,” he said.
Carter said, “We did a review of a lot of different municipalities to see where we were. We were fairly low on most…Generally, a lot of the fees are proposed to double.”
He noted, “We don’t want to discourage growth for businesses, but we’ve got to get with the times.”
Carter said things like hawkers and peddlers, and taxi cab licenses — “Those haven’t gone up in a long time.”
But fees involving solar, water extractions, the wind — “Those are all fairly new and left the same,” he said.
Among the approved increases:
* Hawkers and peddlers license (yearly) — from $100 to $200;
* Hawkers and peddlers license (single event) — from $25 to $50;
* Taxi cab license — $50 to $100;
* Building permit — $25 to $50.
Marijuana business licenses will be increasing significantly, with a registered dispensary from $500 to $3,000, and for a registered care giver from $500 to $2,500.
However, some fees will remain the same, including:
* Snow plowing permit — $15 annually;
* Dog license fee (neutered) — $6 annually, (unneutered), $11 annually.
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