HomeMy WebLinkAbout25. 22-156APRIL 12, 2022 22-156 RESOLUTION
(CARRIED___7-0_____LOST________LAID OVER________WITHDRAWN________)
PURPOSE: AMEND 2022 CITY OF OSHKOSH FEES AND CHARGES FOR THE
ISSUANCE OF RIGHT-OF WAY PERMITS TO ESTABLISH A CAP
FOR PERMIT FEES FOR WORK IN THE RIGHT-OF-WAY
INITIATED BY: DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS
WHEREAS, Wisconsin Statutes and Section 25-16 of the City’s Municipal Code
allow the Council to establish reasonable fees for the issuance of right-of-way permits;
and
WHEREAS, the Council had previously adopted fees for calendar year 2022
including a fee for right-of-way permits; and
WHEREAS, upon review it is appropriate to place a cap on the fee for right-of-way
permits to give consideration for the economies of review in larger projects with overall
similar design and construction principles.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Common Council of the City of
Oshkosh that the City of Oshkosh 2022 fee schedule is hereby amended to establish a cap
of five thousand and no/100 dollars ($5000.00) for issuance of a Right-of-Way Permit as
follows:
* Work may be reviewed and permitted as a single Right-of-Way Permit with a fee capped at
five thousand and no/100 dollars ($5000.00) when it meets the following criteria:
1. Work is less than 50,000 linear feet contiguous, and
2. Work is contained on one side (north or south) of the Fox River, and
3. Work is of similar nature, and
4. Submitted within 10 working days of a previous submittal; and/or
5. Related to a singular City of Oshkosh CIP Project
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TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the Common Council
FROM: Justin Gierach, Engineering Division Manager / City Engineer
DATE: April 7, 2022
RE: Amend 2022 City of Oshkosh Fees and Charges for the Issuance of Right-
of Way Permits to Establish a Cap for Permit Fees for Work in the Right-
of-Way
BACKGROUND
Municipal Code Section 25-16 allows the Common Council (Council) to establish fees
for the issuance of Right-of-Way Permits. At the November 23, 2021 Council Meeting,
Council enacted a permit fee structure which included a base, linear footage, and
structure fee based off of a review of the 2019 and 2020 Right-of-Way Permits issued.
This fee was incorporated into Resolution No. 21-612, passed on December 14, 2021,
adopting the 2022 City of Oshkosh Fees and Charges.
Wis. Stat. 182.017 define what costs can be included in permit fees. In general, these costs
are related to the issuance of bonds, licenses, and the permits, as well as review of permit
drawings, inspections, and coordination with the work. Under Wis. Stat. 66.0628, any
fee imposed by a political subdivision of the State of Wisconsin has to bear a reasonable
relationship to the service for which the fee is imposed.
As the Engineering Division has been administering permits for the last three plus (3+)
months, it has been determined that multiple permit fees would have been in excess of
$10,000. With the amount and scale of work becoming larger, being able to account for
over $10,000 in staff time to administer a single permit under what is defined by
Wisconsin Statutes would be difficult.
ANALYSIS
Staff reviewed the current fee structure and determined it would be appropriate to place
a cap on the fee for Right-of-Way Permits to give consideration for the economies of
review in larger projects with overall similar design and construction principles. Staff
developed the following criteria to give some guidance for when work may be reviewed
in the context of a single ROW Permit:
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1. Work is less than 50,000 linear feet contiguous, and
2. Work is contained on one side (north or south) of the Fox River, and
3. Work is of similar nature, and
4. Submitted within ten (10) working days of a previous submittal, and/or
5. Related to a singular City of Oshkosh CIP Project.
Staff believes that these criteria set forth reasonable parameters for when permit requests
may be reviewed as a single project and when additional work may be involved making
additional fees reasonable under the Statutes. The cap of $5,000 represents an amount
that Staff believes is reasonable and justifiable. The amount is also consistent with a
previous Wisconsin Supreme Court case which upheld a $5,000 cap in relation to another
municipality’s permit fee structure.
FISCAL IMPACT
The revenue from the Right-of-Way Permit fees is used to offset the cost for the added
position of a Right-of-Way Permit Civil Engineering Technician.
The above criteria for the issuance of a single Right-of-Way Permit, as well as a cap of
$5,000, will be applied to all permits issued in 2022. After a thorough review of all of the
2019 and 2020 permits, there were a total of five (5) permits that would have been capped
(two (2) in 2019 and three (3) in 2020). The addition of this cap is not expected to
negatively affect the revenues being collected in relation to the funding of the position.
RECOMMENDATIONS
I recommend establishing a cap of $5,000 for permit fees for Work in the Right-of-Way
Permits.
Approved:
Mark A. Rohloff
City Manager
JLG/tlt