Smithtown considers raising building-related permit fees

The Town of Smithtown is considering raising fees for a host of residential and building-related permits, including for electrical and plumbing work and the installation of pools and fences.

Under the proposed code change, fees related to residential buildings, commercial buildings and general permits for “building construction” would be raised by varying degrees.

The cost of installing fences, currently set at $170, would increase by $30, or 17.6%, to $200.

Permit fees to install solar panels on residential rooftops would rise from $165 to $175, a 6.1% increase.

Under construction fees for residential buildings, installing heating and air-conditioning units and other permanently placed equipment would increase $25, to $575 per unit. Gas pressure tests would rise $15, from $275 per meter per test to $290.

Installation fees for commercial antennas and satellite dishes would go up $75, from $1,125 to $1,200 per unit, a 6.7% increase.

The town board held a public hearing on the proposed fee hikes at its Jan. 22 regular meeting. A vote is expected at a later date.  

Tom McCarthy, a town board member and deputy supervisor, said the town has been steadily increasing building fees for roughly five years to keep up with the rising costs of inflation, salary increases and growing expenses for employees' pensions and health care premiums.

“We’ve been doing that every year to keep track with what the costs of doing business is, to cover the costs of all the different permits, and to cover the costs of the employees doing the work,” he said in an interview.

If approved, the fee changes would go into effect April 1, according to the resolution.

Among other possible related increases:

• Electrical work permits, which would double, from $50 to $100, as would electrical agency fees, which are charged for account activation or connecting services.
• Fees to install or remove storage tanks, which would increase by 4.6% from $325 to $340.
• Application fees for demolition of a residential dwelling, which would go from $75 to $100 per accessory structure to be razed, a 33% hike.

McCarthy said the town hasn’t seen any drop-off in construction projects in recent years since it started raising the fees, and that officials aren't expecting a decline from the proposed increases this year.