A pact on plumbing

St. Charles Journal
By Mike Terry

Maryville and Madison County officials entered into an agreement on Wednesday night that will create a plumbing inspection program for the village.

Previously, whenever a Maryville property owner requested a plumbing inspection or needed a permit, they were referred to the Illinois Department of Public Health. However, because the state's inspector assigned to cover the area was covering around 14 counties and was having a hard time keeping up, the process often could often take a long time.

Under the agreement, which was unanimously approved by the Village Board, the county will allow Maryville to use the county's fully licensed inspector on a part-time basis."This is something we've been talking about for about two years," said Building & Zoning Department Administrator Kevin Flaugher. "We thought this would definitely be good for us."

According to Flaugher, until a few years ago, Madison County also referred its customers to the state department.

Hoping to speed up that process themselves, they eventually hired their own full-time inspector, only to find they didn't have enough business to keep that person busy. Recently, the county began contacting surrounding municipalities to see if they were interested in using their inspector part-time.

Flaugher and Mayor Larry Gulledge recently met with county officials to discuss specifics for the agreement, including the cost to the village and what they should in turn charge customers.

Permits for new plumbing, which are usually only necessary for new houses, businesses and commercial buildings, will now be on a flat-fee cost of $65. That will cover the cost of three inspections ($45), mileage ($10) and administration costs ($10). The state currently charges $45.

At Monday night's meeting, the village board also voted unanimously to raise their hotel/motel tax from 3 to 5 percent, bringing them to the same amount surrounding villages and cities.

By state statute, 5 percent is the highest amount a municipality can charge and it can only be imposed for a period of 30 days in a row on a customer staying in a hotel or motel.

Funds raised by the hotel/motel tax are set aside to be used on things that will promote tourism and encourage overnight stays in the village. Gulledge said in the past, the fund has been used to purchase things like Christmas lights and when the village hosted a national arm wrestling championship. He estimated that the move would raise their revenue from about $700 to $800 per month to over $1,000.

Maryville currently only has one hotel, the Econo Lodge, located just off Interstate 55/70.