City of Tulsa working on hiking construction related fees

Tuesday, June 10th 2003, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

Renovating or building a home in Tulsa might cost you a little more. The city is trying to balance its budget despite a $75-million shortfall. That means some construction fees might go up.

News on 6 anchor Scott Thompson says this will affect your wallet. Some developers are saying this could add to the overall cost of buying a home or fixing one up.

Before you build, you have to buy permits and licenses from the City of Tulsa. That's to make sure projects meet the city's safety rules. The city council is considering raising those fees by about 5%. That would raise about $200,000 to cover the cost of issuing the permits.

Developers say the fee hike for connecting new homes to water lines is closer to 20%. And when all the new charges are tallied, it could increase the price tag on new homes. Mike Buchert with Tulsaâ€™s Public Works Department says higher fees shouldnâ€™t sink a project. "Your permit fees are 1%-2% of the cost of the construction so raising them by 5% in terms of adding to the cost of a home is not that great of an increase."

The full city council would need to approve the fee increase before they could go into effect. That should happen later this month or early July.