Saugerties building department fee increases

The Saugerties Town Board voted at its regular meeting on April 7 to increase the building department minimum fees for building permit applications, accessory structures, repairs, sign permits, fire safety inspections and other permits and inspections. A table of building permit fees shows the fees from $50 for projects under $1,000 to $530 for projects between $48,000 and $49,000, with an additional $10 per $1,000 for projects costing $50,000 or more. Supervisor Fred Costello said the new fee schedule had taken some time to develop and he credited councilman Michael Ivino with helping to develop it. “We don’t want to make Saugerties an expensive place, but we want to be reflective of our peers and our costs of operation,” Costello said. In addition to reflecting local costs, they are more in line with the cost of inspecting and enforcing the construction work being done. “I believe it has been more than a decade since these were updated, so it was time,” Ivino said. “Our numbers still are either right with or below our peers.” The complete fee schedule is on the Town of Saugerties website, https://townsaugerties.digitaltowpath.org:10234/content.