South Burlington council adopts capital assessment fee to fund fire station addition
July 23, 2025 | South Burlington City, Chittenden County, Vermont
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The South Burlington City Council adopted Resolution 25‑10 on July 21 to create a capital assessment fee intended to fund an addition to a fire station to house the fire prevention and rental‑registry team.
The resolution, presented by Fire Chief Steve Locke, creates three revenue streams: a 5% surcharge on rental‑registry fees, a 5% surcharge on non‑construction permits, and a 0.25% surcharge on construction permits with a $45,000 cap. The council voted unanimously to adopt the resolution.
Chief Steve Locke told the council the rental‑registry surcharge would add about $75 to a typical short‑term rental registration (the short‑term registration fee is $1,500), about $77.50 on a long‑term registration and $1.25 on a unit marked permanently affordable. He said a 5% surcharge on non‑construction permits (for items such as sprinkler, tent or kitchen‑hood permits) would average about $9.04 per permit based on recent permit volumes. The largest revenue source would be the construction permit surcharge; staff proposed 0.25% of declared construction cost with a $45,000 cap (a threshold that would be reached on about an $18,000,000 project, Locke said).
Locke gave examples: a $20,000 kitchen remodel would pay about $50; a $100,000 renovation would pay about $250; and a $480,000 new home would pay about $1,200. He said the city projects roughly $175,000 a year from the three buckets and that the fee would sunset once the addition’s debt is paid.
Council members asked how the new fee would layer with other recent fee changes. Locke said the fees are additive but declined to calculate every combined example during the meeting; he offered to provide detailed math later. The council approved the resolution on a unanimous voice vote.
The council’s action directs staff and finance to implement the new fee schedule and to use the money to service debt on the planned station addition until the debt is retired. Staff noted the resolution permits earlier sunsetting if the debt is paid by other means.
Plans for the station addition and any borrowing will proceed under the city’s normal capital‑project and budget processes.
The resolution, presented by Fire Chief Steve Locke, creates three revenue streams: a 5% surcharge on rental‑registry fees, a 5% surcharge on non‑construction permits, and a 0.25% surcharge on construction permits with a $45,000 cap. The council voted unanimously to adopt the resolution.
Chief Steve Locke told the council the rental‑registry surcharge would add about $75 to a typical short‑term rental registration (the short‑term registration fee is $1,500), about $77.50 on a long‑term registration and $1.25 on a unit marked permanently affordable. He said a 5% surcharge on non‑construction permits (for items such as sprinkler, tent or kitchen‑hood permits) would average about $9.04 per permit based on recent permit volumes. The largest revenue source would be the construction permit surcharge; staff proposed 0.25% of declared construction cost with a $45,000 cap (a threshold that would be reached on about an $18,000,000 project, Locke said).
Locke gave examples: a $20,000 kitchen remodel would pay about $50; a $100,000 renovation would pay about $250; and a $480,000 new home would pay about $1,200. He said the city projects roughly $175,000 a year from the three buckets and that the fee would sunset once the addition’s debt is paid.
Council members asked how the new fee would layer with other recent fee changes. Locke said the fees are additive but declined to calculate every combined example during the meeting; he offered to provide detailed math later. The council approved the resolution on a unanimous voice vote.
The council’s action directs staff and finance to implement the new fee schedule and to use the money to service debt on the planned station addition until the debt is retired. Staff noted the resolution permits earlier sunsetting if the debt is paid by other means.
Plans for the station addition and any borrowing will proceed under the city’s normal capital‑project and budget processes.
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