CAMPAIGN - Cut Building Permit Fees 50 Percent

 I propose that Douglas County Commissioners should reduce

building permit fees by fifty percent for a one-year period.

     Unlike the federal government, Douglas County can't issue stimulus dollars to pump money into the local economy. But there is another way to stimulate the local economy: Cut building permit fees by fifty percent for one year.

     Douglas County's unemployment rate is still above ten percent. Local building permit fees have increased significantly recently. Think of all the jobs that would be created for one year, as plumbers, painters, carpenters, electricians, landscapers, sheet rock installers, and others, would see an uptick in work.

     If enough new projects were initiated, it would offset any lost revenue from reducing the county's fees. Even if the county's fees were not entirely replaced, the temporary one-year reduction on building permit fees would generate enough new projects to reduce our unemployment and funnel more dollars into local businesses.

     It's not government's role to create new jobs. But it is the government's role to give businesses the ability to create jobs without unnecessary red tape and fees that impede job growth.