PORT TOWNSEND — Jefferson County commissioners have adopted updated fee schedules for several departments, although few changes were made to existing fees.
During their regular meeting Monday, county commissioners unanimously approved fee changes for the sheriff, auditor, clerk, Public Records Act administrator and environmental public health, which had previously been discussed at a Nov. 13 meeting.
The largest change in fees was a 6.01 percent increase off all fees at the Department of Environmental Public Health. The increase was passed in order to cover the cost of wage increases at the department since 2020, according to Environmental Public Health Director Pinky Mingo.
“There’s been since January 2020 a 19 percent increase in wages,” Mingo said at the meeting. “The 6.01 is covering the cost in wage increases.”
Changes to the Environmental Public Health Department were made in conjunction with the Jefferson County Board of Health, which also voted unanimously to approve the new fee schedule.
Minimal changes were made to fees charged by the Auditor’s Office for survey maps, official copies and records of monument fees. The department now charges $25 for the first page of records of surveys or maps and $5 for each additional page.
Fees for copies of department documents are $5 for the first page and $1 for each additional page.
Copies for record of monument documents are $1 per page.
The Sheriff’s Office, county clerk and Public Records Act administrator made no changes to their fee schedules.
Commissioners voted in June to change the way the county updates its fee schedules from being placed within the county code to being approved by resolution of the board.
“Basically any new fee schedule is going to be adopted by resolution by the Board of County Commissioners or the Board of Health,” said Philip Hunsucker, the county’s chief civil deputy prosecuting attorney.
Commissioners said adopting new fees by resolution makes the changes easier for the public to find and makes the process more transparent. Several county departments have been updating their fee schedules since June.
All fee changes will go into effect in January.
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Reporter Peter Segall can be reached at peter.segall@peninsuladailynews.com.
