Rockaway Borough raises fees

ROCKAWAY - Several municipal fees, including a new $15 charge for beach badges and a jump in municipal day care prices from $5 to $75, were adopted at the Thursday, Dec. 11 Borough Council meeting.

Councilman Joe Vicente, the only person to vote against the adoption of all four ordinances, said he felt more time was needed to view the boroughs financial shape in 2015 before raising any fees.

As we have not yet reviewed the borough finances, there is no justification to raise any fees especially at the rates which were raised, 100 percent, 200 percent and 1,400 percent with no level in the service being provided, said Vicente.

My recommendation is to table these four fee-increase ordinances until after we have reviewed the boroughs finances in 2015. If there is a justification to raise these fees, we can do it then.What was the rush to raise fees? As the economy is stagnant, this is not a time to raise fees.

The first ordinance, for fire prevention and protection, amends annual fees that are to be paid by the owners of non-life-hazard premises to the borough.

The amount of the fee is based on the premises square footage or number of garages and storage areas. This is instead of the fees being based on the type of premises as previous, which included assemblies, business/professional, retail, manufacturing, storage, and religious institutions, and had ranged from $15 to $350.

The new non-life-hazard fees are $65 for premises under 3,000 square feet, $150 for premises from 3,000 to 6,000 square feet, $250 for premises from 6,000 to 12,000 square feet, $400 for premises over 12,000 square feet, $250 for multi-level premises with up to and including three stories, $75 for multi-family dwellings, and $40 for every garage or storage area within multi-family dwelling units.

The first ordinance also includes brand new fees for 2015 regarding fire extinguisher training, including $100 for a group of one to five people, $150 for a group of six to 10 people, and $200 for a group of 11 or more.

The second ordinance amends fees for various departments including alcoholic beverages, parks and recreation areas, sewers, taxicabs, vehicles and traffic, and water.

For alcoholic beverages, plenary retail consumption license fees are now $1,400 (previously $1,200), plenary distribution license fees are now $1,400 (previously $1,200), and club license fees are now $140 (previously $120).

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Rockaway Borough raises fees