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Auburn City Comptroller Mary Beth Leeson provided an overview of the proposed 2025-26 fee schedule at the City Council meeting Thursday. Most of the changes are for the city's code enforcement. If approved by the council, permitting fees will increase for commercial and residential construction. 

Leeson noted the city lags behind other communities that charge more for permitting fees. For example, the fee for constructing a 1,500-square-foot home in Auburn is $275. Other localities in the region charge between $450 to $2,730.

"Nobody likes to hear higher fees, but I think you see that we're so much less than every other community and it does take staff time to do these things, whether they are inspections or looking at permits," Auburn Mayor Jimmy Giannettino said. "We're balancing the budget on homeowners for things like that, so I think it makes sense to transfer some of that cost of those services to those who are actually using them. We're underpriced compared to other communities."

Other changes include increased fines for repeated offenses if individuals work on a property without a building permit. There would also be a new fee for installing a commercial solar array.

The city would raise fees for softball field rentals from $250 to $400, and the rate to rent the Casey Park ice rink would rise from $200 to $225 an hour. There would be a $350 fee to rent city-owned basketball courts.

Auburn City Ambulance would begin charging for advanced life support intercepts, facility contractual mileage and transports. The fees would be in accordance with the Medicare schedule.

Auburn Fire Department would also begin charging facilities $250 for providing lift assistance. According to Leeson, there has been a "significant increase" in calls for lift assistance, so they want to charge for that service.

Leeson initially proposed raising the refuse collection fee from $276 to $420, but she is now recommending a $400 refuse collection fee. That sparked a discussion about the city's approach to garbage collection and potential long-term changes, such as limits on trash pickup.

Giannettino said there are some residents who put one trash can out to the curb, while others use more. For those who put out several garbage cans, he thinks they should pay more.

"I know that's going to be a logistical nightmare," he said, "but we're getting to that point where we have to make it where it's still reasonably priced for the everyday homeowner that's putting out a regular amount of trash."

The parking changes will have a broader impact. The city charges $1 an hour for the street-level portion of the Lincoln Street garage. In the upper portion of the garage, parking is free for the first two hours. The rate is $3 for three to five hours, and $5 for more than five hours.

Leeson proposed eliminating the free parking period. There would also be a slight increase for lot permits, from $220 to $225 every six months, and violators would receive one warning per year instead of one every quarter.

The city is working with the Auburn Downtown Business Improvement District on parking-related matters. Auburn City Clerk Chuck Mason noted that if the city eliminates the two-hour free parking period, they could shift to the $1-an-hour rate that's in place for the street-level area.

The City Council is considering the fee schedule as it works to finalize the 2025-26 budget. A final vote on the budget will occur at the council's June 12 meeting.

In other news

• The City Council will hold two public hearings at its meeting Thursday, May 22.

One hearing will be on the proposed 2025-26 city budget. The other will focus on the proposal to exceed the property tax cap.

Both hearings will coincide with the council meeting, which begins at 5 p.m.