Proposed changes to License and Permit Fees
CITY OF HOPKINS
Memorandum
To: Honorable Mayor and Council Members
Mike Mornson, City Manager
From: Christine Harkess, Finance Director
Amy Domeier, City Clerk
Date: December 13, 2016
Subject: Proposed changes to License and Permit Fees
_____________________________________________________________________
The common fees for all City departments are adopted by resolution and include in the
City Code. Staff has been working together to establish baseline charges that included
calculated amounts of staff time and overhead costs involved for each fee. It is
anticipated this review will happen every December going forward; however, we do
expect additional fee changes later this winter after the full review is complete.
To date, the following fees have been reviewed and being brought to you for
consideration:
• Administration: Document copying related to Data Requests
• Police: Document copying related to Data Requests
• Inspections: Commercial and Electrical Permits
• Public Works: Sidewalk snow abatement
Should the City Council approve moving forward with the amended fees, it is
anticipated that the item will be brought for formal approval at the December 20
meeting.
HOPKINS ADMINISTRATION DEPARTMENT
DATA REQUEST POLICY & FEE SCHEDULE
EFFECTIVE DECEMBER XX, 2016
COPIES OF DOCUMENTS:
Cities may not charge a fee for allowing visual inspection of data. The responsible
authority may charge for copies of records. If 100 or fewer pages of black and white, letter
or legal sized paper copies are requested, cities may not charge more than 25 cents for
each page copied.
In other instances the responsible authority can charge the actual costs of searching for,
retrieving and making copies of the requested data. This can include the cost of labor in
making the copies. The city must be able to demonstrate the charges are appropriate.
When determining what a reasonable fee for copies is, the city may consider:
• The cost of materials, including paper, used to provide the copies.
• The cost of the labor required to prepare the copies.
• Any schedule of standard copying charges established by the agency in its normal
course of operations.
• Any special costs necessary to produce such copies from machine based record keeping
systems, including but not limited to computers and microfilm systems; and mailing
costs.
Cities cannot charge for separating public data from not public data. If the city is not able
to provide copies at the time of request, it must supply them as soon as reasonably
possible.
HOPKINS ADMINISTRATION DEPARTMENT FEE SCHEDULE
1010.25 Miscellaneous
Copies
The following fees will apply to all departments:
Up to 100 copies of black and white letter or legal sized copies $.25
More than 100 pages Actual cost
HOPKINS POLICE DEPARTMENT
DATA REQUEST POLICY & FEE SCHEDULE
EFFECTIVE DECEMBER XX, 2016
REQUESTS FOR POLICE DATA AND REPORTS:
Requests for police data and police reports must be made to the police records staff.
Requests can be made by filling out a Data Request Form which may be obtained online at
www.hopkinsmn.com/police/records or at the Hopkins Police Department Records office
Monday through Friday during business hours (8:00am – 4:00pm). They may be picked up
from Records during business hours or emailed/faxed/mailed if proper identification was
provided and appropriate fee paid (if applicable) at the time of request.
REQUESTS FOR PUBLIC DATA HAVING COMMERCIAL VALUE
Weekly Public Arrest, Accident Data and Activity Reports will be available for review online
at www.hopkinsmn.com/police/records/. These reports are updated by Thursday of each
week for the previous week’s data.
SPECIAL REPORTS
Computer summaries may be requested. For standard reports, those which are generated
by the computer with no additional manipulation of data, the requester will be charged a
fee of $5.00 per report.
Special reports requiring more than one week’s data and/or manipulation of data,
(deletions, additions, translations or sorting) will be considered a special request and
subject to additional costs. Generally, fees for special reports are a minimum of $25.00.
HOPKINS POLICE DEPARTMENT FEE SCHEDULE
Report copies No Charge for first 10 pages.
If Requestor is the subject of the reports or representative of the
subject – No Charge.
If Requestor is not subject of report – First 10 pages free, $.25 per
page for 10 pages and above.
Clearance Letters $5.00 per letter.
Fingerprint Cards $15.00 per card.
Copies of Video Tapes: $20.00 per disk, payable with request.
Copies of Audio Tapes $20.00 per disk, payable with request.
Copies of Photographs: $5.00 per disk, payable with request.
Permit to Purchase Handguns: Hopkins residents only – No charge
Permit to Carry Handguns: Contact the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office at 612-348-8008
Summary data computer generated reports: $5.00 per report, plus postage if mailed.
Special computer generated reports: $25.00 minimum per report, plus postage if mailed.
ELECTRICAL PERMIT FEES
As a general rule, the people benefiting from a particular service should bear the cost of
providing the service. Therefore the City charges fees to businesses or individuals who receive
licenses, permits, or services which are limited to that business or individual. Fees and service
charges should cover the costs involved in providing the program or service. Periodically, staff
reviews existing fees and makes recommendations for revisions.
The City took over issuing electrical permits and inspections in 2011 when the MN State
Government shut down. Electrical Permit fees have not been increased since late 2007. The
current fee schedule does not cover the cost of administering these permits. The proposed fees
come closer to covering the City’s costs while remaining affordable for individuals.
Below is an example of one of the electrical permit fee increases. As you can see, it is in line
with what many neighboring communities are charging.
City Electrical Inspection Fee
Per Trip
City Electrical Inspection Fee
Per Trip
Eden Prairie $35.00 Minnetonka $40.00
Edina $35.00 New Hope $40.00
Golden Valley $40.00 St. Louis Park $50.00
Hopkins $35.00 increasing to
$40.00
Plymouth $40.00
A more comprehensive list of fees for commercial and residential electrical permits is attached.
REI 11 (4/11)
Item Description Increase Current Fee Total
e c r u os / 5 3 $ e c r u o S r e w o P p m A 0 0 4 o t 0
e c ru o s / 0 6 $ e c r u o S r e w o P p m A 0 0 8 - 1 0 4
e c r uo s / 0 0 1 $ e c r u o S r e w o P p m A 0 0 8 r e v O
t i u c r i c r o r e d e e f / 6 $ r e d ee F r o t i u c r i C p m A 0 0 2 o t 0
t i u c r i c r o r e d e e f / 5 1 $ r e d ee F r o t i u c r i C p m A 0 0 2 r e v O
e c r u os / 0 7 $ e c r u o S r e w o P p m A 0 0 4 o t 0
e c ruo s / 0 2 1 $ e c r u o S r e w o P p m A 0 0 8 - 1 0 4
e c r uo s / 0 0 2 $ e c r u o S r e w o P p m A 0 0 8 r e v O
t i u c r i c r o r e d e e f / 2 1 $ r e d ee F r o t i u c r i C p m A 0 0 2 o t 0
Ov
e
r
6
0
0
V
o
l
t
s
t i u c r i c r o r e d e e f / 0 3 $ r e d ee F r o t i u c r i C p m A 0 0 2 r e v O
New Multi-Family Dwelling Unit
(with up to 20 circuits and feeders per unit) t i n u / 0 7 $
New Multi-Family Dwelling Unit
(additional circuits over 20 per unit) $ 6/feeder or circuit
Existing Multi-Family Dwelling Unit
(where 10 or more feeders or circuits are installed or extended) $ 70/unit
Existing Multi-Family Dwelling Unit
(where less than 10 feeders or circuits are installed or extended) $ 6/feeder or circuit
Reconnected Existing Circuit or Feeder (for panelboard replacements)$ 2/feeder or circuit
Transformer (Light, Heat or Power) rated up to 10KVA $ 15/transformer
Transformer (Light, Heat or Power) rated in excess of 10KVA $ 30/transformer
l a t se d e p / 5 3 $ ) y l p p u S t o L ( k r a P e m o H d e r u t c a f u n a M
RV Pedestals (all circuits originating in pedestal incl. factory circuits)$ 6/circuit
Street, Parking Lot, Outdoor, Traffic Standards $ 5/standard
y l p pu s r e w o p / 5 $ g n i t h g i L e n i l t u O & s n g i S r o f s e i l p p u S r e w o P
Technology circuits & circuits less than 50 volts 75¢/device or apparatus
e r u t xi f / ¢ 5 2 s e r u t x i f g n i t h g i l g n i t s i x e f o t i f o r t e R
p i r t n o i t c e p s n i / 5 3 $ ) s ( pi r t n o i t c e p s n i l a n o i t i d d A
) s nm u l o c e e F d n a y t i t n a u Q e h t n i s e u l a v r e t n e ( e e F e v i t a g i t s e v n I
TOTAL INSPECTION FEE is the fee calculated above,
or $40 multiplied by the number of required inspection trips, whichever is greater.
Inspections Department
1010 First Street South
Hopkins, MN 55343
952-548-6320
952-935-1834 FAX
www.hopkinsmn.com/departments/inspections/
City of Hopkins
State Surcharge $1.00
Enter INSPECTION FEE here & on permit application >>
Item Description Increase Current Fee Total***
0 to 400 Amp Power Source $ 35/source
401 - 800 Amp Power Source $ 60/source
Over 800 Amp Power Source $ 100/source
0 to 200 Amp Circuit or Feeder $ 6/feeder or circuit
Over 200 Amp Circuit or Feeder $ 15/feeder or circuit
New One- or Two-Family Dwelling
(up to 30 circuits and feeders per unit) $ 100/dwelling unit
New One- or Two-Family Dwelling
(additional circuits over 30 per unit) $ 6/feeder or circuit
Existing One- or Two-Family Dwelling
(where 15 or more feeders or circuits
are installed or extended per unit)
$ 100/dwelling unit
Existing One- or Two-Family Dwelling
(where less than 15 feeders or circuits
are installed or extended per unit)
$ 6/feeder or circuit
Reconnected Existing Circuit or Feeder (for panelboard replacements)$ 2/feeder or circuit
Separate bonding inspection $ 35/inspection
Inspection of concrete-encased grounding electrode $ 35/inspection
Technology circuits & circuits less than 50 volts 75¢/device or apparatus
Additional inspection trip(s) $ 35/inspection trip
Investigative Fee (enter values in the Quantity and Fee columns)
Other…
Other…
Other…
TOTAL INSPECTION FEE is the fee calculated above,
or $40 multiplied by the number of required inspection trips, whichever is greater.
Enter INSPECTION FEE here & on permit application >>
Inspections Department
1010 First Street South
Hopkins, MN 55343
952-548-6320
952-935-1834 FAX
www.hopkinsmn.com/departments/inspections/
City of Hopkins
REI (Request for Electrical Inspection)
One & Two Family Dwelling
Inspection
Fee Schedule #1
State Surcharge $1.00
\Work Session Memo 12.13.16
Memorandum
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
From: Jay Strachota, Streets & Parks Superintendent
Cc: Mike Mornson, City Manager
Date: December 13, 2016
Subject: Discuss amending City Code Section 1020.31for sidewalk snow abatement fees
Staff would like to discuss amending City Code Section 1020.31 for sidewalk snow abatement
fees. Staff proposes increasing the current rate of $1 per foot for residential properties and $2 per
foot for commercial properties to $2 and $3 respectively. At the current billing rate, the fees
collected do not defray the cost of staff time spent inspecting, sending notices, or billing; per City
Code Section 615.08 Subd 3 these are billable expenses.
By increasing the abatement fee by $1.00 per foot, the City is better able to recoup the real
expenses of abatement.
Staff reserves the right to bill as needed for staff time and equipment required in extreme
cases.
Public Works Department
Hopkins City Code (Rev Jan 2016) 1020
Page 3
1020.11. Sewer utility
1 Sewer Utility Inspection Fees,
Job Cost Labor and Materials
per job
Fee Job Cost
$30.00 Less than $1000
$30.00 plus 2.50% of
amount over $1000
$1001-$10,000
$255.00 plus 2.25% of
amount over $10,000
$10,000-$50,000
$1155.00 plus 2.0% of
amount over $50,000
$50.000-$100,000
$2155.00 plus 1.5 % of
amount over $100,000
$100,000 and over
2 Sewer Utility Re-inspection Fee $35.00 per hour per inspection
3 Sanitary sewer connection 150.00 per sac
4 Sanitary Sewer Utility Rate $4.30 per 1000 gal
1020.13. Refuse utility
1 Refuse utility rates
95 gallon 25.30
65 gallon 21.85
35 gallon 17.85
2 Bulk Pick-Up service 25.00
County (9.75%) 2.44
State (9%) 2.25
Total 29.69
per stop ¾ cubic yard
and/or bulk item plus
County & State Waste
Management fee s
Air Conditioners 25.00 per air conditioner
Sofas or Hide-a-beds 25.00 per sofa/hide-a-bed
Appliances 25.00 per item
3 Garbage Call Back Fees 15.00 per call
4 Extra Dump Charges
95 gallon 9.00
65 gallon 6.00
35 gallon 3.00
5 Yard Waste Stickers 3.00
6 Curbside Brush pick up
0-5 Cubic Yards 12.00
5 – 17 Cubic Yards 30.00
18 C yards/truck load 50.00
7 Recycling Service Charge 5.00 per month/per unit
1020.15. Storm Sewer Utility
Charge Rate = $15.00 RATE/MONTH REF
1 Single Family & duplex
residential
5.00/unit 1/3
2 Multiple Family Residential 45.00/acre 3
3 Commercial institutional uses 75.00/acre 5
4 Public and private schools 18.75/acre 1.25
5 Churches 45.00/acre 3
6 Parks 3.75/acre 0.25
7 Golf Courses 3.75/acre 0.25
8 Vacant Improved &Unimproved 0 0
9 Industrial 75.00/acre 5