EPHRATA - Ephrata's building permit fees are increasing to cover a roughly $30,000 to $40,000 annual deficit.

The city council approved updating the city's building permit fees during a recent council meeting.

Building Official Bill Cox explained the city was basing its fees on the Uniform Building Code. The organization was dissolved in 1997, and the fee tables haven't been updated since then.

"There is an approximately $30,000 to $40,000 a year shortfall," he said. "Basically, I came up with the fact that ... it costs the building department $127,565 a year to do business."

Cox determined the department's expenses by looking at the wages of the people working in the department, office supplies, state examination, equipment rental, maintenance contracts, telephone, insurance, power and Internet service.

"After looking at other cities and what they were doing, I realized the (International Code Council) actually has a valuation table, that's a living document. They update it every six months and that's what most of the cities in our area and in Washington and, in fact, throughout the nation are using," he said.

For an example, Cox used a 2,335 square-foot home, saying the permit would cost $1,497. The increase made it $2,170, a change of $672.

"It's roughly a 45 percent increase, but it's really not that much ... because in your permit fees you do collect about 1 to 2 percent of the value of that home," he said. "The 45 percent sounds like a lot, but it's really not."

Cox wanted to recoup the costs of processing the permits, not to make a profit, he said.

"I had gone back from 2010 to 2005, took all the different years, because every year you get a different amount in permit fees and averaged them out and with the multiplier and the figures ... over that five year period it should pretty much be a neutral budget," he said.

City Administrator Wes Crago pointed out the rate of inflation since the last time the city adjusted the permit rates in 1997, is more than 41 percent.

"So Bill's targets, these ICC figures, give you very similar numbers," he said.

General contractor David Spencer pointed out the costs of connecting water, sewer and permit fees are about $5,000 to $7,000.

"When they say, ‘Let's jump it $600,' that's a lot of money," he said.

Councilmember William Coe said it's important to be sensitive to the cost of development, but more important for the city to not lose money reviewing permits.

"I appreciate the work you've gone to and it makes sense to me that we would be revenue neutral," Councilmember Kathleen Allstot said. "I appreciate Mr. Spencer's comments, but I know he's going to pass that extra $600 on to me when I buy a house."