Copperas Cove city council to discuss fee changes, funding requests on Thursday

By BRITTANY FHOLER
Cove Leader-Press

The Copperas Cove City Council will be holding a special workshop meeting Thursday, June 30, to discuss proposed Fee Schedule changes and hear presentations from non-city agencies regarding funding requests. 
The major change is the proposed fee increase for Solid Waste rates. The solid waste deposit is proposed to increase from $40 to $45.11 for residential and $65 to $73.30 for commercial. 
The monthly rates for garbage collection are proposed to increase from $19.83 to $22.36 for single family residences, for multi-family residences and for additional containers. 
Other notable changes proposed to the city’s fee schedule include an increase to the non-emergency service call fee for Copperas Cove EMS, increasing from $50 to $100, and changing from per half hour to a minimum of one hour. 
Fire inspections fees are also on the list for increases. The Fixed Piping Systems Permit fees are increasing by $25, from $125 to $150, as are the Fire Alarm Systems Permit fees and the Fire Protection Systems Permit fees and Above and Below Ground Fuel Storage Tank Installation and Removal fee. The fee for licensed facility inspections is also proposed to increase for foster homes and adoptive homes inside city limits, from $40 to $50. 
For Building and Development fees, most fees are proposed to increase anywhere from $1 to $16, while commercial permits for multifamily, commercial, etc. construction plans are proposed to increase from $30 to $32 for 500 sq. ft. or less and as much as $2,515 to $2,716 for buildings that are 45,001-50,000 sq. ft. 
The certificate of occupancy fee is proposed to increase from $60 to $65, while the mobile hope park license is proposed to increase from $125 to $135. The oil/gas drilling fee, per well, is proposed to increase from $1,000 to $1,080. 
Under Development Services, the fees for various plats are proposed to increase from $311 plus $10 per lot to $336 plus $11 per lot. The Land Use Plan amendment is proposed to increase from $207 to $224. 
The Public Hearing Legal Notice/Map exhibit fee is proposed to increase from $36 to $39, and the Public Hearing Newspaper Publication Fee is proposed to increase from $162 to $175. 
At the Public Library, the cost per page for color printouts from the computers are proposed to increase from 15 cents to 25 cents. 
The fee for a Garage Sale Sign is proposed to increase from $10 to $12. The Health Inspection Fee is proposed to increase from $75 to $100, while the Foster/Adoption Health Inspection Fee is proposed to be $50. 
A temporary health inspection fee, for three days for non-profit use, is proposed to increase from $12.50 to $25. 
The non-city organizations expected to request funds from City Council from the General Fund are the Boys and Girls Club ($15,000), Cove House Emergency Homeless Shelter ($10,000), Noon Exchange Club ($4,420), Hill Country Community Action Association, Inc. ($7,500). 
The city’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2022-2023 only has $15,000 included for the General Fund requests, so the council will discuss which organization gets how much of that $15,000 in funds.
The Hotel Occupancy Tax Fund requests include funding for Civic Center improvements, the Texas Lodging Association, and the Chamber of Commerce total $162,811, with $137,121 being for Chamber of Commerce requests.  
There is $156,500 available in the fiscal year 2023 budget to allocate for these requests. 
The City Council will meet at the Technology Center at 508 S. 2nd Street at 4 p.m. for this special workshop.