"Here we go again - the Con Com running amock."
It's been a few months since I attended a conservation commission meeting, but it wasn't a surprise when a constituent mentioned the increases to the fee schedule. Every year, the selectmen must approve the fees levied for various town services and, well, it's that time again.
If you're interested, the current fee schedule is on the town website.
What got our neighbor's ire up was (among other things) a suggestion by one member of the commission that the proposed 100 percent increase for an Administrative Approval be 200 percent. Apparently, there was no rational explanation as to why this fee should be increased at all.
In response, my constituent suggested that we "develop a whole new, comprehensive, bottom-up fee schedule based on actual costs to execute the actual mission."
More than a few folks have commended me for "shaking things up" and perhaps it is time that someone ruffle a few feathers, challenge the status quo, and revisit this whole fee thing. I, for one, have a few questions...
Why are fees charged? Your neighbor and fellow taxpayer suggests fees are merely a tax by another name, and I cannot say that I disagree. After all, we pay taxes, so why must we pay a fee on top of our taxes?
Why do we charge the fees we charge? I don't know the answer to this one either. If we can arbitrarily raise a fee by 100 or 200 percent, then what, exactly, are we charging for? Do we even know the value of the service provided?
How much revenue does the town get from fees? Are these sacred "cash cows"?
Do the fees directly offset the cost of the services provided? i.e., Are they really necessary, or are we unnecessarily taxing people to make up for inefficiencies elsewhere? Are we unnecessarily burdening residents?
The Board of Selectmen will be voting on the 2009 fee schedule later this month...let me know your thoughts.
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