Hiking Municipal Fees is on Upper Mac's Radar

Upper Macungie supervisors will consider early next year if fees the township charges are on par with neighboring municipalities.

Supervisors noted at a Dec. 13 meeting that some fee schedules haven't been considered since 2008 and could require upward tweaking.

"We're way below on many (fees) that other municipalities charge," said supervisor Kathy Rader.

One example is the $200 fee charged to township residents for filing an appeal to the zoning hearing board.

"The fee is $200 per zoning hearing. It costs $175 just for the court stenographer and then we have to pay the (zoning hearing board) solicitor," Rader said. "We wind up losing money on those fees."

Supervisor Sam Ashmar said the board should be careful about raising permit fees too high.

"For checking something like a shed, the fee is $75. If we make the fee too high, people won't get the permit and just pop them up," he said.

Supervisors postponed further discussion on the issue until January.