JACKSON TO COLLECT FEES UP FRONT

JACKSON, Mo. -- Jackson will begin collecting fees up front for reviewing commercial and industrial building applications and plans.

The Jackson Board of Aldermen approved the change in city procedure at Monday's night's meeting.

Previously, the city collected the fees at the time the project began. The reviews often require the evaluation by the city's planning and zoning official, the city building inspector, the fire chief and the flood plain inspector.

Rodney Bollinger, the city's planning and zoning official, says city employees sometimes spend 15 days evaluating commercial and industrial building applications "only to find out two months down the road the project is not going through."

The fees are based on the estimated building value.

Now the city will collect up front $10 up to the first $5,000 in estimated value and another $1 per additional $1,000.