By QUINTON SMITH/YachatsNews
WALDPORT – The Waldport city council has amended an ordinance giving the city manager more leeway – with some reporting and accounting oversight – to waive some fees or fines and pause a time limit on some zoning or permit applications.
City manager Dann Cutter said a week does not go by during which someone forgets to pay – or doesn’t understand how to – a water bill and is fined under current city ordinances. Or a check comes out of the wrong account and bounces – and the owner is fined. Or there’s a land-use planning request that has to be handled within a certain time period and the planner is unavailable.
“For example, we sometimes will waive fees for nonprofits in land use or regulation hearings, but it depends, since some entities may not be Waldport entities,” Cutter said in a memo to the council. “We often will extend the timeline on an application or allowance of an infraction, while we see effort being made to remedy or comply. Alternatively, sometimes we will waive fees or make accommodations for specific situations, such as when two neighbors agree on a remedy which may not meet code timelines or restrictions. Finally, we sometimes waive or delay a timeline to encourage development or investment in the city.”
But there is no language in city code to legally allow that, Cutter said, in proposing a series of “Good of the City” amendments last week.
The changes also require Cutter – or any future city manager – to report to the council each month when a fee is waived or similar accommodation made.
The council can also vote to overrule the decision, under the new wording. Also, if the council finds that the city manager has abused the process, it can require him – not the city resident — to reimburse the city.
Cutter said that process is intended to prevent a “Good old boy” situation where a city manager can play favorites by waiving fees for one person but not for another.
“There needs to be a transparent way to make sure it is not abused,” he told the council. “There has to be transparency and accountability.”
Councilor Susan Woodruff had the only questions about the proposal – which the council eventually approved 6-0 – asking that staff keep a running tally of each decision, its cost and report monthly to the council.
Fees change too
The council also voted unanimously Thursday to make substantial changes in the amount of fees it charges for a variety of services – everything from water hookups and turn on/off visits to homes, to land-use planning fees, to fees on vacation rental licenses and management companies.
Cutter told the council that many fees had not been changed for years and when staff looked at the actual cost of providing some of those services, the fees were not covering the city’s costs. The new fees, he said, “now reflect the cost of the service.”
For example, he said, the city currently charges a fee of $680 to handle the appeal of a land-use decision. The actual cost — by the time the city planner and attorney deal with it — and there is a hearing, is at least $3,000, which is now reflected in the new fees. If an appeal is successful, the cost is refunded.
Two fees which jumped substantially are yearly vacation rental license renewals which increased to $500 from $200, and a new yearly fees on vacation rental management companies. The fee is $1,000 a year for companies located in Lincoln County, but double that for companies outside the area. The approved fees are a change from the original proposal, which said the management companies needed to be located in Waldport.
The higher fees are also designed to make some folks who regularly abuse or “game” the system, Cutter said. Those include people who regularly call to have the city locate their water meter in their property, or too often request turn off/turn on services, or want until there is a shut-off notice to pay their bills.
“Some of these situations are heart-breaking and it’s really clear what we need to do,” Cutter said of the new fees and the new authority to have some discretion to waive them. “Other times it’s the fifth time in a year and it’s also clear we need to clamp down on the issue.”
Cutter said in the future city staff will examine and propose yearly updates to fees to help avoid large, sudden changes.