The village of Riverside is increasing some of its fees to ensure the village covers staffing costs and keeps pace with neighboring communities’ fees.
At its Feb. 15 meeting, the Riverside village board reviewed the village’s fee structures related to building permits, water meters and ambulance rides. During the meeting, village staff presented a review of what Riverside charges, when the last increases went into effect and what neighboring villages charge for the same services. It was the first such review since 2018.
During the discussion, village staff presented data from a survey of the fee structures of Riverside’s “surrounding, comparable communities” including Brookfield, La Grange, La Grange Park, North Riverside, Hinsdale, Western Springs and River Forest. After discussion, the board agreed to raise each of the three kinds of fees in Riverside. A final vote on the increases is scheduled for March 7.
While these fees are rising across the board, Assistant Village Manager Ashley Monroe emphasized during discussion that the increases will bring Riverside closer in line with neighboring villages.
“Overall, the complaints we hear about permitting at times is that costs are high in comparison to [other municipalities’ costs],” she said. “What we found through the survey is that, while we do differ in some of the areas, the results were that we’re either right on par with our neighboring communities … or slightly low in some areas.”
Building permits
Riverside’s base fee of 1.75% of the value of construction, which has a minimum cost of $100, is staying the same, Monroe said at the meeting. The biggest change, she said, will come to Riverside’s base fee for reviewing construction plans: What used to be a one-time fee of $75 will become an hourly fee at the same rate.
“As we’re getting increasingly skilled at reviewing many of our permits in-house again, it is comparable to the total of staff time and the cost for staff,” Monroe said.
All of the work involved in permitting — including “intake and processing,” “registering contractors,” and “addressing inspections” — “takes [staff] several hours, from even the simplest permit to more complex permits,” she said.
Monroe added that making the rate hourly instead of a one-time charge would cover the cost to pay staff for those hours of work, which range from 3.5 hours for simple permits up to more than 14 for complex permits. According to an internal village memo, Riverside’s building permitting process “would operate at a loss” without this change.
The board also agreed to introduce a $100 fee to remove a stop-work order for the same reason of covering staff costs. According to the memo, other villages already have a similar fee.
Ambulance services
Riverside has charged insurance companies from $750 to $1,200 for ambulance rides based on the level of care needed and whether the person receiving care was a village resident. At the meeting, Monroe told the board that village staff recommended increasing the fee across the board to $2,200, which she said was the closest hundred-dollar figure to the average of what other communities charge. According to survey data, other villages charge the same for all ambulance rides within each municipality. The cost to ride ranged from $1,000 in La Grange to $3,202 in Brookfield.
Staff also proposed a possible tiered fee structure, where non-residents would be charged the full $2,200 for an ambulance ride while residents would pay closer to $2,000 per ride, a move the board ultimately supported.
“Typically, our billing company will provide us with schedules and information related to what the insurance is willing to pay,” village manager Jessica Frances said during the discussion. “By not adjusting the rate, you are actually leaving money on the table that the insurance companies would have provided the village of Riverside.”
While trustee Cristin Evans pointed out the large difference between the current ambulance fees and the proposed increase, Monroe clarified that the jump is partly because Riverside’s fees have stayed entirely the same since the last fee review six years ago.
Water meter exchanges
The board also approved a $300 fee for residents who continue to refuse to exchange their water meters. The village’s new water meters can be read remotely while staff must drive past homes to read the old meters. The new fee will apply only to residents who refuse or ignore three appointment requests from the village to change their water meter or who do not schedule an appointment by a certain deadline, Monroe said. Riverside implemented a similar fee the last time it required residents to update their water meters about 15 years ago, according to officials. Frances suggested setting a deadline of the end of the year for residents to exchange their water meters to “create a clear break” between residents who are slow to respond and those who refuse to exchange their meters.
“Now they’re making an active decision to either A) ignore our calls and notices and so B) we have to do the process [of reading water meters] manually,” which would cost the village money, Frances said. She added that village staff would “use some discretion” in deciding which residents to charge the $300 fee for cases where residents are willing but unable to have their meters exchanged until after the new year.
“I just want to add to anyone that hasn’t had their meter changed or they’re hesitant to have their meter changed, I just would like you to know my experience, which was for staff to come and spend literally five minutes making the change and leaving,” Evans said. “It was very not intrusive at all.”
“I want to be clear, too, that this additional fee is not punitive,” Village President Douglas Pollock said. “It’s because if you don’t get your water meter switched out, it costs us more, and so it’s only fair to the other water users that you be charged extra.”
