Minutes 07/09/2002 - Laserfiche WebLink

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July 9, 2002 b) Chapter 16 - Animal Pickup and Disposal: This fee is currently only charged to veterinarians at a rate of $15 per pickup. It is recommended to increase this fee to $30 per pickup. This increase is estimated to generate approximately $7,500 annually. c) Chapter 17 - Rental Inspection Fee: The current rental inspection fee is $15. The proposal to modify the fee structure is as follows: $30 - inspected prior to tenant occupancy; $50 - inspected within 5 days of occupancy; $100 - inspected after 5 days of occupancy. The goal of this modified fee structure is to provide an incentive to request rental inspections in a timely fashion and to discourage people from trying to avoid the inspection requirement. Based on the new fee structure, the rental inspection fee revenue is estimated to increase by $40,000. d) Chapter 19 - Museum Admission Charges: Charges for museum admission are proposed to increase as follows: Children's Museum from $5 to $6; Courthouse Galleries from $1 to $3; Naval Shipyard and Lightship from $1 per museum to a new $3 ticket that will allow admittance for the Naval Shipyard and Lightship Museum. School Program Rates at the Children's Museum will be $4 for General Admission; $4.50 for General Admission plus planetarium show; $5 for SOL-based program; $5.50 for SOL- based program plus planetarium show. Portsmouth Public School groups will continued to be admitted free. Increase the cost of a Key Pass to $9 with the pass being valid for 90 days. Based on new admission charges, museum revenue is estimated to increase by $72,000. e) Chapter 22 - Accident Reports and Offense Reports: The Police Department currently charges for providing copies of accident and offense reports. The department is proposing to increase the fee to $7 per report. The estimated revenue to be generated from this increase is approximately $6,000 annually. f) Chapter 22 - Parking Ticket Violations: General violations are proposed to increase from $10 to $25; handicap space violations are proposed to increase from $50 to $200 and fire hydrant violations are proposed to increase from $25 to $50. The increase in revenue from proposed parking violation fines is projected to be approximately $62,000 annually. g) Chapter 22 - Hauling Permits: There is a two-tier fee structure: a single trip and a blanket permit. The fees for both tiers are proposed to increase from $25 to $50 for a single trip and from $125 to $200 for a blanket permit. There would continue to be no charge for permits issued to government or military installations. The projected annual increase in revenues from this change is $11,500. h) Chapters 22 and 24 - Jail and Court Related Fees: Virginia Acts of the Assembly - 2002 Session provides for new fees that may be assessed by a locality. The first fee is a $25 processing fee from any individual admitted to the City Jail following a conviction. During 2001, the Sheriff's Office conducted 2,386 bookings. This fee will be ordered as part of court fee collections and will be used to help defray the operating costs of the Sheriff's Office. The second fee is a $5 fee that may be imposed as an additional court fee to defray costs of funding Court Security. The fee will be assessed on each criminal and traffic case. Based on a 40% success rate of collections of assessed fines and fees by the Courts, it is estimated these two fees will generate $99,000 annually. i) Chapter 32 - Driveway Permits and Utility/Right of Way Permits: The existing fee for driveway permits is $7.50. The permit fees are proposed to increase to $30 for residential drives and $200 for commercial drives. The existing right-of-way disturbance fee is $.60 per square yard. The following recommendations are made with respect to the right-of-way permit fees: Charge $15 for single family residential lots. For all other developments or improvements, there will be a $40 minimum charge for all disturbances up to 100 square feet, plus $1 for each additional square foot. The $5,000 right-of-way bond will be eliminated. For Verizon, Columbia Gas, Cox Cable, and Dominion Virginia Power, a $100,000 bond or letter of credit, renewable annually, will be required. For other utility companies and contractors, a bond for the estimated cost of the work will be required, in addition to the standard fees as stated above. The fees to be generated from this change are projected to be $260,000 annually.