ST. CLOUD -- Stearns County Commissioners have approved some fee increases to better help cover the costs of providing services. The change averages out to be about a 2.9% increase, with some services going up at a higher percentage while others remained flat or had a smaller increase.

County Auditor-Treasurer Randy Schreifels says the Stearns County hasn't raised fees in the last four years and they need to adjust the non-levy revenues to keep in line with inflation. He says Stearns County ranks 83rd out of 87 counties when comparing service fees and what percentage they reflect in the overall levy.

Some of the notable increases are in construction site permits, conditional use permits and septic systems.

Schreifels says Environmental Services is the area most impacted by increases.

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