Building a home, office or store in rural Douglas County is about to get more expensive.

County officials are preparing to boost fees next year for county building permits, possibly by as much as 64 percent. County commissioners are scheduled to discuss the potential revenues of fee increases during a budget hearing Monday.

A county permit for building a $100,000 home now costs $480, or less than half the $994 fee recommended by the International Conference of Building Officials. The fee for a similar permit in Lawrence is $614, and that price will go up to $785 Jan. 1 and to $994 in 2004.

The county should follow suit, Commissioner Charles Jones said.

“Let’s put our fees on the same schedule,” Jones said. “The sooner we can get on this the better off we are.”

The increased fees would help offset the costs of running the county’s zoning and codes department, Jones said. The county collected $88,574 in building permit fees last year.

Bumping fees to $614 for a $100,000 home would be expected to generate another $22,000 for the county next year, said Craig Weinaug, county administrator. Going to $985 would bring in another $55,000, and $994 would pump in another $80,000.

Commissioner Bob Johnson said he wasn’t sure how much fees should increase, but he knows they need to go up. He considers $994 too high, but wants to move the fees closer to covering the cost of services provided.

“We could easily justify charging the same for a building permit that the city of Lawrence does,” Johnson said. “We have to be willing to raise those fees.”

But Jere McElhaney, commission chairman, offered a sarcastic warning to his fellow commissioners as Jones and Johnson reiterated their support for the idea.

“Increase the fees in a recession,” said McElhaney, who owns a fence-building business. “That’s just what we need to do.”

Monday’s budget hearing begins at 8:30 a.m. at the Douglas County Courthouse, 1100 Mass. Hearings are scheduled to continue Tuesday.

In other business Monday, the commission will consider a revision to the final plat of Hidden Hill addition, a replat of lots 7, 8, and 9 of Long Shadows subdivision. The 14-acre, three-lot subdivision is at the northeast corner of East 1264 Road and North 935 Road.