Council Approves Fee Restructuring

The Sidney City Council Tuesday approved restructuring of fees for city services.

The restructuring has less to do with prices and more to do with where they can be found within City documents, according to City Manager Ed Sadler.

“The intent is to have all the fees in one place,” Sadler said.

He introduced the proposal as a way to document all of the City’s fees in one resolution.

While many fees remained the same, some show an increase, and some were deleted. All dog licensing fees were deleted in the new fee structure. Sadler said the dog licenses were a way to ensure pet owners were vaccinating their dogs. However, the cost of impounding a dog increased from $30 to $45 for the first occurrence, day one; $15 to $20 for first occurrence additional days; $45 to $50 for second occurrence one day. The third occurrence increases from $50 to $75.

One of the changes to the fee code is an after-hour service fee. Services requested after normal business hours will incur a fee of $50 per hour with a two-hour minimum. Sadler said if a customer needs after-hours service, the general public should not be paying the cost.

Sadler said overall the fees stayed “relatively close to where they were.”

He said it is his intent to review the fee structure each year.

The new fee structure also removes electrical fees for new construction, and additions and alterations.

The council also discussed openings on the Civil Service Commission and on the Library Board. The Civil Service Commission oversees the enforcement of civil service rules and regulations. The Civil Service Commission has three members appointed by the city manager for six-year terms. The Commission is composed of Dr. Jeff Cook, Gary Hawkins and Sue Hiett. Hawkins’ term expires Nov. 18.

At the time of appointment, a member of the Civil Service Commission must be a citizen of the U.S., a resident of Sidney for at least three years and an elector of Cheyenne County. Sadler said not more than two commission members can be a member of the same political party.

Two library board positions will expire at the end of the year as well. Terms of Sandy White and Ami Jager expire in December. The positions will be advertised for a two to three-week period and posted on the City’s website. White and Jager are eligible to continue on the Library Board.