Since April, the city of Marathon has received more than 700 building permit fee refund applications. The city is set to refund up to $2.2 million to homeowners who paid for city building permits between Dec. 14, 2020 and March 14, 2023.
The refunds – and a 42% decrease in building permit fees that was approved at the March meeting of the Marathon City Council – are to correct the current balance of the city’s building department, which exceeds the limits set by Florida statute.
The city is processing the refund applications in the order in which they are received, said City Manager George Garrett. City staff reports that $256,952 of building permit fees and state surcharges have been refunded to 300 applicants. The city estimates that 3,000 applicants are eligible for refunds, for one or more permit applications.
The largest refund issued so far is $20,618.11 and the smallest is $2.50.
About 60 applications have been rejected, according to Joanna Williams of the city’s building department. She said either the application referenced a project outside of the approved refund dates, or the refund was ineligible because the building permit fee collected was the minimum amount due — $93.50, the base amount for permit fees at City Hall.
Marathon City Council directed staff to send out courtesy emails to homeowners in the affected time period regarding the available refunds, but stressed it is the responsibility of the homeowner to apply.
• Homeowners who paid for city of Marathon building permits between Dec. 14, 2020 and March 14, 2023 are eligible to apply.
• The amount of the partial refund will be limited to the difference between the building permit fees paid during that time period ($30 per $1,000 of stated project cost) and the current building permit fees ($17.50 per $1,000 of stated project cost). For example, a homeowner who applied for permits for a $500,000 project would have paid $15,000 in permit fees, and is now entitled to a $6,250 refund.
• Refunds will be made payable to the property owner of record at the time the building permit fee was paid and should not be payable to: any contractor; assignee; or the current owner if the property has since been sold.
• Building permit fees filed by a corporation, LLC or trust must still be owned by the named entity in order to be eligible for a refund. The person signing the refund application must be either the president or treasurer of the entity.
The deadline to apply is Sept. 30, 2023. After the deadline has passed, unclaimed funds will remain in the building permit fee fund and directed toward charitable endeavors. Those who believe they are eligible must submit an application, which is available on the home page of the city’s website (www.ci.marathon.fl.us) under the “What’s Happening” tab, or available in hard copy at City Hall. Completed forms can be emailed to refunds@ci.marathon.fl.us.
