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HomeMy WebLinkAbout074 95 (Ie; ALL Í).(.~. K ~ ~9~ 95' .-. STATE OF WASHINGTON County of Jefferson IN THE MA TIER OF A POLICY FOR CONSIDERATION OF FEE WAIVER REQUESTS ASSOCIATED WITH COUNTY ORDINANCES } } } } } RESOLUTION NO.7 4-95 WHEREAS, Federal, State and local laws require public agencies to treat all parties equally, so there is no potential for discrimination; and, WHEREAS, Jefferson County Ordinances establish fees to, in part, compensate the general public for costs associated with the review of projects or activities, provision of services; and, WHEREAS, requests are submitted to the Board of County Commissioners for waiver of fees by individuals and organizations, and; 1) WHEREAS, the following findings are made with regard to the matter of requests for the waiver of fees: The waiver of fees for one party and not another can be viewed as discriminatory, unless there is a 2) stated policy when and under what circumstances said waiver would occur. The WasJ-Üngton State Constitution prohibits the gift of public funds and the waiving of fees can amount to a gift as the costs associated with providing services are shifted entirely to the public for the benefit 3) of the applicant. Fees set by County Ordinance do not differentiate between worthy causes or worthy organizations and are to be applied equally to private individuals and public agencies. The waiving of fees creates a budget impact for the department not receiving the fees. 4) NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that there may be circumstances where the requested waiver of fees may be in the public interest and of public benefit for a project or activity and the public should participate by the waiving of the fee(s). BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, to assure that all parties requesting a waiver of fees are treated equally and to determine if the requested waiver of fees is in the public interest and of public benefit, the following policy (Attachment A to this Resolution) is hereby adopted. 4u¡u j)r . 1995. SEAL: VOL 21 rAŒ 01.056 Attachment A -- Resolution No. 74-95 Policy for Consideration of Administration Fee Waiver Requests ATTACHMENT "A" RESOLUTION NO. 74-95 POLICY FOR CONSIDERATION OF FEE WAIVER REQUESTS POLICY STATEMENT The waiving of fees for individuals or organizations may be seen as: 1) being a gift of public funds, 2) being a discriminatory act, and 3) having an impact on individual County department/funds budgets. Jefferson County has detennined that there may be circumstances, however, where the public interest and public benefit in a project or activity is such that the public should participate by the waiving of fees associated with such a project or activity. REQUEST AND DEPARTMENT RECOMMENDATION: All requests for waiver of fees shall be made in writing to the department administering the fee to be waived. The Department will forward the request to the Board of County Commissioners with their recommendation for approval or denial. APPROVAL CRITERIA: The Jefferson County Board of Commissioners shall review all requests to waive the fees associated with any individual project or activity. Requests may only be approved when the following criteria can be met: 1) There is substantial public interest and benefit in the project or activity to the degree said project or activity could be a County project or activity, but is not because an alternative method for the project/activity was found. Any and all similar requests will receive the same approval regardless of the person or organization requesting the waiver. A corresponding amount from a Fund, to be designated by the Board of Commissioners at the time of the approval, will be transferred to the Department where the fee is waived. VOL 21 rAf;r 0 1.057 2) 3)