Speaking at a Conservation Commission hearing on amendments to the Harvard wetlands bylaw rules, Selectman Bill Johnson suggested last week that the commissioners double the local wetlands fees. He said his proposal was in the interest of making fees “more equitable.”
Wetlands fees are the amount that property owners pay if they plan to “remove, dredge, fill, or alter” land within a specified distance from a wetland, according to state law. Some fees are set by the state, but local fees are specified in Harvard’s own Wetlands Protection Bylaw.
For example, the fee for repairing or upgrading a septic system is currently $200. Land-use administrator and conservation agent Liz Allard said that this job is so common that the commission has sought to keep the fee a low, flat rate. Under Johnson’s proposal, the fee for septic repair would rise to $400. Fees for new construction vary with the size and complexity of the project.
At the commission’s Jan. 17 meeting, Johnson said that two factors had led him to examine the fees. First, the Finance Committee was looking at maximizing all revenue sources to cover costs. Second, he said, the Finance Committee had given the Planning Board responsibility for finding any money to be spent for a town planner, which led Johnson to look at the land-use boards’ revenue.
Johnson said that the current wetlands fee structure brings in almost $15,000 per year, about $11,000 of which goes to cover the Conservation Commission’s share of personnel costs for Allard, a town employee. By doubling the fees, Johnson said, the commission could get a greater share of the personnel costs for Allard, whose hours are divided among the Conservation Commission, the Planning Board, and the Zoning Board of Appeals. The additional revenue, Johnson told the Press, would free up dollars in the omnibus budget that could be used to pay for the hiring of a full-time planner, as he and other town officials are advocating.
Fees to the town from the Planning Board have decreased in recent years, partly because the economic downturn has led to fewer housing starts. At present, the Conservation Commission’s wetlands permits are the main source of land-use fees for Harvard.
Commission member Jim Breslauer asked why the Finance Committee itself had not asked the commission about the fees. Johnson responded that the Finance Committee had sent questions to the chairs of the committees and planned to ask questions of all the land-use boards on Saturday, Jan. 26.
Commission member Wendy Sisson explained that the fees are based on the service the board provides. “It’s not just about how much money we need,” she said. “We do not have the power to set them arbitrarily.”
Costs include site visits by Allard, legal notices of hearings, applications, official filings of plans, and other related expenses. Johnson urged the Conservation Commission to do a cost analysis to see that the fees cover all the land-use board expenses.
“I don’t agree that everything has to be paid for by a fee [for it] to be legitimate,” Sisson said, pointing out that much of the land-use boards’ work is done by volunteers, which saves money for the town. But that volunteer system depends on the support of Allard’s paid work.
