NATCHEZ &8212; With the passage of an amendment to a city ordinance at Tuesday&8217;s meeting, the board of aldermen now has the power to waive building permit fees.

It was proposed just after a contract was presented allowing a management company to take over managing the new hotel across from the convention center and part of the center itself. The board postponed approving the contract until it could be revised, and they passed the amendment.

Attorney Walter Brown, who proposed the ordinance change, said at the meeting that waiving the fee was part of the agreement with hotel developer Tom Bauer.

Anyone working on new construction or structural renovation within the city limits must have a building permit.

The city receives roughly $5,000 to $6,000 a month in permit fees, Natchez Building Inspector Paul Dawes said. The money goes into the city&8217;s general fund, which is then distributed among various departments.

&8220;(The inspection department) is not self-sustaining,&8221; Dawes said. &8220;It&8217;s not a revenue-generating activity by any stretch of the imagination.&8221;

The price of a permit is based on a sliding scale, depending on how much it will cost to complete a project, not including the cost of land, Dawes said.

A fee for a $10 million project, such as the future hotel, would bring in $20,656 in fees, he said.

A few months ago, Alderman James &8220;Ricky&8221; Gray brought before the board a request to waive the building permit fee for Habitat for Humanity, a non-profit group. The ordinance did not allow that at the time.

The city law now allows the board of aldermen to waive fees for non-profit organizations and for those projects that would economically benefit the city.

Mayor Phillip West said the board would likely take requests to waive fees on a case-by-case basis.

West said small businesses were welcome to request their fees be waived, too.

&8220;(It will take) trial and error,&8221; West said. &8220;If businesses approach us for the same kinds of waiver, we&8217;ll be forced to address whether or not we can legally do it based on the spirit of the ordinance.&8221;

Gray, too, said he thought it would have to be addressed on an individual basis.

&8220;If they want to expand their business and are hiring 10 more people, I would call that (economically) beneficial,&8221; Gray said. &8220;If they just want a tax break because they&8217;re tired of paying taxes, I wouldn&8217;t call that beneficial.&8221;

Alderman Theodore &8220;Bubber&8221; West said he welcomed businesses, large or small.

&8220;(Business size) doesn&8217;t matter to me,&8221; West said. &8220;If someone wants to bring something that&8217;s going to boost the economy, I have no problem waiving fees.&8221;

Bubber West said he thought building fees for residences would probably not be waived and that the board would have to tackle requests one-by-one.

&8220;And the economic impact would have to be bigger than the fees they would (otherwise) pay,&8221; West said.