To the Editor:

Do you think you should be required to get a $75 town permit in order to fix your home’s broken window? Sounds a little silly? Well, the Guilderland Town Board thinks it is needed [“Guilderland residents will have new water meters and increased fees,” The Altamont Enterprise, Dec. 17, 2024].

In fact, the board, unanimously, has just imposed a string of new fees on town residents and businesses that include a $200 fee for a new roof, $300 fee for inspection of your underground sprinkler system, and even a $100 fee for an electric car charger in your garage. Amazingly, the EV charge comes at a time when national and state governments are actually offering tax credits to make electric cars more available while the town chooses to impose an additional hurdle.

A deep dive into the town’s fee system reveals an extraordinary intrusion into residents’ everyday lives.  It was surprising to discover the town now has more than 300 fees it imposes on residents and businesses; these are ways to reach into your pocket without placing it on your tax bill

It also interjects the heavy hand of government into so many aspects of your life. Are you kind enough to consider adopting a dog? That’s a $75 town fee. Would you like to walk your dog in our dog park? That’s another fee.

Like to plan a bingo game to raise money for a good cause? That’s a fee, too. Like to have a small block party with your neighbors in the summer. That’s a fee, too.

What’s really heavy handed, if you neglect to pay for one of the hordes of imposed fees (which you may or may not have ever heard of), the town indicates if someone acts without a permit, they must then pay double the permit fee.

We have heard a lot about housing affordability in Guilderland during the comprehensive-plan update process. However, the many fees the town imposes on builders only adds to the cost of housing. Just ask a builder.

A Guilderland resident who spoke at the board meeting when the fees passed said, “All of these (roofing, siding, sprinklers projects, etc.) are pretty pricey things for homeowners to tackle to begin with and this seems kind of like adding insult to injury.”

Please contact all the town board members and ask them to do two things:

— 1. Repeal all the new fees created last month; and

— 2. Establish a citizens committee to review all our town fees and present recommendations on what should stay and what should go.

You can understand fees to play golf on the town golf course or to rent a park pavilion for a private celebration. But the town has far too many fees that should be eliminated.

The board can certainly amend the town code to make our fee system much fairer, more taxpayer-friendly, and far less intrusive. Speaking up is always the proper approach for citizens to take. Please make your voice heard.

Mark Grimm
Guilderland

Editor’s note: Mark Grimm is a Republican Albany County legislator, representing District 28, which includes five election districts in the Carman Road area of Guilderland and one election district in South Colonie.