Public Works moves updated sewer permit and contractor fees to second reading

The Cuyahoga County Department of Public Works presented an update to the county’s sewer permit and inspection fee schedule and asked the Procurement and Contracting Committee to refer the ordinance for a second reading.

Melanie Seid, speaking for Public Works, said the last fee update was in 2018 and that staff did not apply the annual CPI-based adjustments during the intervening years. Using the built-in CPI calculation, the department estimated an average annual increase of about 2.74% across the seven-year period, which staff said amounts to roughly an 8–10% cumulative change. Seid gave an example: the contractor license fee would rise from $70 to $80 under the proposed schedule.

Committee members asked why automatic CPI increases were not applied earlier; Seid said previous staff did not implement those annual adjustments, and that recent increases in salary and bargaining obligations prompted the current change. The committee voted to move Ordinance 20250008 to second reading.

Staff told the committee the fees are paid by contractors or business owners seeking permits or mainline inspection services; the ordinance updates multiple line items for permit, inspection, overtime and special inspection charges. The committee did not adopt final passage and will consider the ordinance at the next reading.