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Rejecting a proposed fee increase that had been figured into this year`s budget, the McHenry City Council has decided to maintain residential building permit fees at 12 cents per square foot.

The Finance Committee had proposed raising the fees to 16 cents per square foot, but aldermen, citing concern for keeping housing affordable for fixed-income senior citizens and first-time home buyers, voted down the raise last week.

Increasing the fees was one of several measures the city had planned to balance its budget, according to village administrator Gerald Peterson. He said the increase would have generated $30,000.