Kansas courts have ruled that fees charged must have a reasonable relationship to the fee payer and should not be for the purpose of raising revenue over and above the expenses of the governmental purpose. It appears Douglas County is appropriately proposing an increase to their current fee structure. However, the city of Lawrence generates significant excess revenue from permits beyond actual costs. That excess revenue funds many activities of the city that have relationship to the fee payers (homeowners). And yet, more fee increases are proposed for 2003! If the excess revenue were used to enhance the work of the building code officials, the requirement for reasonable relationship would be met, but that is not the case in the city.

The group detrimentally affected by unjustified fees is not the builders  it’s the entire Lawrence community. Unnecessarily increasing the cost of housing means more families will fail to attain homeownership.

Bobbie Flory, executive director,

Lawrence Home Builders Assn.