City Beat: Council considers service fee increases

Springfield City Council on June 15 considered an updated fee schedule that calls for increasing 76 of the city's 104 existing service fees and adding 17 new ones.

City ordinance states that the city can only set fees at a level to recover the cost of administering the associated service and can only raise fees at a level equal to the consumer price index, plus 10 percent.

Some fees, however, continue to be met with opposition - notably, restaurant health inspection fees that were implemented in fiscal 2009. The new fee schedule for next year would increase the fee for high-risk and medium-risk establishments by about 15 percent. An inspection at a high-risk restaurant, for example, would cost the owner $374, up from $325.

Both Councilman Nick Ibarra and citizen Tom Martz expressed concern that the inspection fee violates Missouri's Hancock Amendment, which states that cities aren't allowed to pass taxes, licenses or fees without a vote of the general public. Martz, a former council candidate, said the Springfield-Greene County Health Department needed an additional revenue source after budget cuts, "so council unanimously passed these inspection fees to the restaurant owners without the authority, I believe, of the city charter."

City Attorney Dan Wichmer, however, said state courts have consistently ruled that the law applies only to taxes and not to fees charged for specific services. He noted that the city restaurant inspection fee is based on the eatery's risk level - higher-risk establishments are charged more because more work is involved.

"If you handle a lot of raw poultry, or if you have a buffet where there's a lot of interaction between people and raw food, the fee is higher because there are three inspections a year," Wichmer told council.

Among the new fees are background checks for tanning salon employees, costing $175, and air quality control permits, ranging from $250 to nearly $4,000.

Council could vote on the fee schedule at its June 29 meeting.

2010 budget

After months of discussion and debate, council also approved the city's fiscal 2010 budget.

The $273.7 million budget for fiscal 2010, which starts July 1, includes $71.4 million in general revenue spending, a 3 percent decrease from the fiscal 2009 budget. Staff was forced to cut $5.7 million from the budget due to sales tax revenue expected to be down more than 3 percent from the current budget.

Among the new budget's cuts are continued personnel freezes, reduced transfers to the parks, transportation and health departments, and elimination of nearly all funding for the city's nonprofit service partners. (See cover story.)

CID approval

The Commercial Street Community Improvement District received council approval, meaning the 350 to 400 registered voters living in the district will be asked to consider a K-cent sales tax to fund infrastructure improvements and upkeep. The district comprises Commercial Street and a block south between Douglas and Clay avenues.

There was, however, some dissent on the issue. Ibarra, one of three council members voting against the CID, noted that he was not a fan of the timing of a new tax.

"In the economic times that we face, it seems like every level of government seems to be trying to reach into the pockets of the citizens, and I don't think I can be on board with that," he said at the meeting.

Even Councilwoman Cindy Rushefsky, who voted for the district's approval, had reservations. While she favored allowing the residents of the district to vote on the tax, she worried about the impact a tax might have.

"If the (CID) board and the neighborhood overprices the market, it's going to kill the district," Rushefsky said. "They'll be at a competitive disadvantage. If they drive away those thriving businesses that exist down there, then the district will fail."

The district board, which has yet to be approved by council, will set a date for ballots to be mailed to district residents.[[In-content Ad]]