Caledonia Argus

County increases fees for services

Posted: 7/8/03

by Jane Palen
Managing editor

The Houston County Board has approved a number of new fees and an increase in many others as part of its ongoing effort to address a reduction of $335,000 in state aid over the next two years.

The fees will go into effect August 1.

All department heads were asked to review fees they currently charge, or to determine if there were areas in which fees could be established. Those areas would be outside of the statutory requirements of the office. In other words, the fees are for services over and above what the office is required by law to do.

The Houston County Sheriffís Office will now charge prisoners , if convicted, $20 per day for every day they spend in jail. The fee for weekend prisoners has doubled from $45 per day to $90.

Other fees from the sheriffís office include a charge of $100 for a gun permit and $75 for a renewal; a fee of $100 for a mechanicís lien sale and $60 for an execution sale; and $25 for a copy of a video (tape not included).

In the human services area, a fee of $250 will now be required for day care licensing. Previously, there was no fee. A renewal will cost $150. Chemical dependency evaluations will be $75; and urinalysis is $10.

In the auditorís office, a fee of $10 per parcel will now be charged for Green Acres calculation, and a copy of the township and county officer list is $5. A copy of the county financial statement is $10.

Beer and liquor license fees will increase as well. An on-sale beer license will go from $35 to $50, and an off-sale license from $15 to $50. A wine license will increase from $200 to $250.

Liquor license fees will remain the same.

Retailers will now pay $100 per year for tobacco license, up from $30.

People who request copies will be charged $1 per page for copies made by courthouse staff in any office, up from 50 cents. If they make the copies themselves, the price is 50 cents a page, up from 25 cents.

Fax fees are now $5 for the first page, $1 for subsequent pages. The previous rate was $1 per page in-state, and $2 per page for out of state faxes.

In the highway department, several new fees have been implemented. Permits for over-dimension loads are $15 for each trip, or a flat fee of $75 per year. Permits for work to be performed in the right-of-way are now $20, and permits for road closure for special events are $20.

Entrance fees for attaching a field road or driveway to a county road will be instituted for the first time. Permits for residential/agriculture roads will be $150; and for commercial/street entrances it is $200. The county will continue to furnish two loads of rock.

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