[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village of Endicott 2-19-2024 by L.L. No. 1-2024. Amendments noted where applicable.]
A. 
The Village of Endicott Planning Board, Zoning Board of Appeals and Code Enforcement Officer, in the review of any pending application, may request permission from the Village Mayor or Manager to refer said application to such engineering, legal, environmental consultant and/or professional(s) retained by the Village Board, as shall be deemed reasonably necessary to enable the review of such application as required by law. Upon receipt of such request, the Village Mayor or Manager shall determine whether to approve the use of professional consultation services and to establish an escrow account as deemed reasonably necessary to enable the review.
B. 
The applicant shall reimburse the Village for the cost of professional consultant services reasonably necessary to enable the Village to review such application. In no event shall the applicant's responsibility be greater than the actual cost to the Village of such professional consultant services.
C. 
Charges made by such consultants shall be in accord with charges usually made for such services in the Broome County, New York region.
D. 
In the event that an application is required to be reviewed by more than one board, to the extent practicable, all such boards shall use the same consultant. In all instances, the Village shall attempt to avoid duplication of consultant reports or services wherever practicable in order to minimize the cost of such consultants to the applicant.
A. 
At the time of submission of an application, or immediately thereafter, an escrow account shall be established, from which withdrawals shall be made to reimburse the Village for the costs of professional consultants' services. Upon establishment of an escrow account, the applicant shall provide funds to the Village for deposit into such account in an amount to be determined by the Village based upon:
(1) 
The costs of professional consultant services in connection with comparable applications in the Broome County, New York region; and
(2) 
The nature and complexity of the application with the decision of the Village to be final and conclusive on the applicant.
B. 
Expenditures from the escrow account shall be made by the Village as follows:
(1) 
The professional consultants employed by the Village shall provide an itemized voucher to the Village as to the monetary value of their services rendered on each project.
(2) 
The Village shall review and audit all vouchers and shall determine whether such professional consultant expenses are reasonable in amount and necessarily incurred by the Village in connection with the review and consideration of applications.
(3) 
Upon receipt of a request by the applicant, the Village shall supply copies of such vouchers to the applicant reasonably in advance of audit and approval, appropriately redacted where necessary to shield legally privileged communications between Village officials or employees and the Village's professional consultants.
(4) 
In the event of request, the applicant shall be entitled to be heard by the Village on reasonable advance notice regarding expenditures from the escrow account.
(5) 
After audit and approval of such vouchers by the Village, the Village may make payments from the escrow account.
(6) 
If the escrow account is depleted prior to completion of the review of the application, the applicant shall replenish the escrow account upon request by the Village. The amount of replenished funds shall be determined by the Village and shall be reasonably necessary to enable it to continue to review the application and such funds shall be based on the costs for professional consultant services as are reasonably similar to such costs for comparable applications in the Broome County, New York region.
(7) 
A building permit or other permit or approval being sought by the applicant shall not be issued unless all professional review fees charged in connection with the applicant's project have been reimbursed to the Village.
(8) 
Any unexpended funds in an applicant's escrow account after the payment of all professional consultants' fees shall be returned to the applicant upon request to the Village for the same.