Washington County reviews FY26‑27 fee schedule; staff projects $46.7M in fee revenue and dozens of line changes

Washington County finance staff presented a proposed FY26‑27 fee schedule on May 12 that updates hundreds of line items across county programs, raising some fees for full cost recovery and adding several new fees. John Steyer, the county’s chief financial officer, said the schedule covers 1,290 fee rows, with about 50% of fees changing and estimated total fee revenue of roughly $46.7 million for the county.

Steyer told commissioners the changes reflect inflation and attempts to improve cost recovery in large service areas (land use and transportation, public health). Notable items discussed included increases in restaurant and pool inspection fees, septic permit fee increases, removal of the tobacco retail license fee where it is no longer needed, and 23 new fees (including 11 tied to the Wingspan/Wingspan Lawn facilities). "These adjustments reflect increases in personnel cost, utilities, and cost allocation plan," Steyer said describing the Westside Commons adjustments.

Commissioners pressed staff for more detail on several items. Questions included why a TB screening fee was being adjusted (staff said communicable‑disease‑related testing would still be covered by medical insurance or public‑health case funding in most instances), requests for market comparators for Wingspan rental rates, and scrutiny of justice court fee changes (a justice court wedding facility fee was noted to be aligned to state requirements and jump from $15 to $117 to reflect actual staff time). Steyer agreed to provide a written list of the specific new fees and comparators.

Steyer outlined timing and process: departments reviewed fees November through January, proposed changes were due January 30, and the board will consider the full schedule as part of budget adoption (target date noted in presentation). Several commissioners expressed support for moving the schedule forward, subject to follow up on comparators and some department clarifications.

Next steps
Staff will provide comparative market data for Wingspan/Wingspan Lawn pricing and follow up details on TB screening targeting and DA discovery fee work. The board indicated readiness to proceed with the process while asking staff to return with the additional specifics before formal adoption.