Brockton council has approved an increase in building permit fees.
The municipality hasn’t increased the fee since 2011.
Mayor Chris Peabody said council wanted to make sure that it walked the line between encouraging more development without increasing the fees too much, but he says the fees are a necessary function.
“The building department does have to, in a way, fund itself, otherwise it’s the taxpayers paying for it, so if there’s a new house built, it should be the developer or the person building the house that does pay for the inspections," he said.
As an example of the increase, the fee on a 1,200 square foot home being built is $880, and the increase will add about $180 to bring that new fee to $1,060 in the new year.
Mayor Peabody said the fee increase is pretty modest and is catching the municipality up with what other areas are doing.
“The inspections are the foundation and the framing, and final inspections, they are important things that do protect the homeowner, and I do believe it should be funded by the people building the homes, and this is just a catch-up, to the inflation," he said.
The new building permit fees in Brockton will take effect on January 1.
