On the November 7, 2017, Regular Council Meeting, Item 15.B Permitting and Notification Requirements was discussed. The Town Council passed a motion directing Town staff to look into notification requirements that contractors must submit regarding any issues in which they may be at fault and fines/penalties should they not submit a notification in proper time.

On February 6, 2018, the Town Council passed and adopted Ordinance No. 18-221 amending the Town's Code of Ordinances at Chapter 35, Article II and creating Article III regulating the placement of utilities and communications facilities, and other similar facilities, within the Town's rights-of-way. This Ordinance addressed notification requirements in the event a permittee cause any damages to a facility during the execution of the work and made the failure to report such damages to the Town a substantial breach of the terms and conditions of any applicable statute, ordinance, rule or regulation or any condition of the permit. However, the amount of fines/penalties were not addressed in this ordinance.

Currently, the Town charges right-of-way permit fees based on ad-hoc estimates of costs for plan review and field inspection staff/consultant time and related costs.

A new rights-of-way permit fee and penalties schedule is proposed where the fees will be analyzed based on a predetermined fee schedule. This ordinance establishes said fee schedule in advance to allow for recovery of the Town's actual costs incurred in managing the public rights-of-way. Providing a fee schedule in advance allows permit applicants the ability to better estimate permit fees.

An administrative overhead fee of 11% is assessed to cover indirect expenses associated with Town support functions.