Increase In Sewer Connection Permit Fee Comes As A Surprise
Pam Stanley was a regular at the Spokane County Utilities Department this summer, researching requirements for switching from a septic tank to a sewer connection.
In early October the Blackhawk resident requested an inspection permit and was shocked - then angered - to discover that as of Oct. 1 the permit fee had doubled, from $50 to $100.
Monthly sewer rates and other fees are scheduled to increase Jan. 1, according to county officials.
“It makes me angry that there are a whole bunch of us getting ready to hook up and they raise the rate without letting us know,” said Stanley. The Blackhawk subdivision is north of Spokane, off Highway 395 near Wandermere.
“If I had known, I would have gotten the permit a week earlier. We’ve been talking to them since June,” she said.
Jim Legat, sewer design manager for Spokane County, said it’s the first time the fee has been increased since 1989.
New fees as of Oct. 1 include: the permit needed to tap into the existing sewer main in the street, $100; holiday and weekend charges, for emergency or rush work outside normal business hours are $85; and plan check costs have increased from 20 cents per linear foot to 40 cents.
Legat said the usual steps were followed before raising the fees, including sending notices to contractors and a public hearing in July before the fees were raised. The increase was announced with a legal notice published in the Valley Herald.
On Jan. 1, monthly sewer rates will go up, but the exact increase is still undecided. The general facilities fee (the charge for connecting a home to the main system) will climb from $835 now to $1,075.
Legat said the county issues as many as 1,400 connection permits each year.
“October 1 did creep up on some people. Many didn’t take out their permits in time. It even caught some contractors by surprise,” said Legat.
“Our inspectors have been trying to mention the increase to people, but they don’t always pay attention until they come in to get the permit,” he said.
, DataTimes