Palmer Township Manager Christopher S. Christman presented a new “unified fee schedule” to supervisors Monday night that aligns permit costs with surrounding municipalities and the Unified Construction Code.

Previously, the township had a variable schedule that calculated the cost of many permits by size or value. For example, if a homeowner was going to install an in-ground pool, the cost of the permit depended on the valuation of the project.

The new schedule sets that permit fee at a flat $200.

A unified schedule, Christman said, is easier to follow and would save time and effort. If approved, it would also be posted on the township’s website so residents could quickly see the costs associated with any project.

With the new schedule, however, comes new fees as well.

One new permit that stuck out to Supervisor Robert A. Lammi is for window replacement. The fee calls for a charge of $10 per window.

“I didn’t even know we needed a permit to replace windows,” Lammi said. He was worried because he recently replaced windows in his own house and didn’t get a permit.

The “Replacement window permit” would be new in 2012.

“We encourage people to replace windows to save energy,” Lammi said, “but at $10 a window that would cut into the savings.”

The supervisors said if the average house had 20 windows, the permit would cost $200. They thought that was too expensive and discussed reducing it to a flat fee or, perhaps, $5 per window.

“We don’t know if the windows would need to be inspected,” said Chairman David Colver. “The fee has to cover the cost of the inspection.”

Colver directed Christman to find out about the inspection requirements of window replacements, and the supervisors will adjust the fee and vote to accept the new unified schedule when presented at another meeting.

New Fees and Permits

If approved, the new township unified fee schedule would include these, among other, changes: