Weeds grow on both sides of a sidewalk along West Second Street in Medford.

Waist-high weeds and unsafe sidewalks are a nuisance that sometimes requires the city of Medford to step in and fix the problem.

Medford City Council June 6 voted 6-1 to increase administrative fees on private property owners who can’t or won’t fix cracked or buckled sidewalks or remove weeds.

“The purpose is to recover the city’s cost of inspection and repair,” said Lorraine Peterson, public works business manager.

The increased fees, which begin July 1, will bring in an extra $10,000 to $20,000 a year, city officials estimate.

Councilor Sarah Spansail voted against the fee increase and has previously voted against other fees because of their financial impact on Medford residents.

The administrative fees are on top of the actual repair work undertaken on a property.

The fees are calculated based on the amount needed to mow the weeds or fix the sidewalks

For unsafe sidewalks, the administrative fee currently ranges from $25 to 15% of the cost of repairs, whichever is greater. Now there will be a flat fee of 25%. Likewise, abatement of other nuisance issues, such as trash on a property, would be a flat fee of 25%.

Unlawful vegetation on a property, which could be a potential fire hazard, previously required an administrative fee of $50 to 30% of abatement costs, whichever is greater. The new fee will be $75 to 30%, whichever is greater.

In most cases, property owners who are notified they have an unsafe sidewalk or a weed problem fix the issue themselves.

But some homeowners don’t have the money to pay for the work, or the property owner can’t be located.

The city averages around 40 weed abatements per year at an average cost of $650 each, which includes both the repair costs and administrative fee. For sidewalks, the city averages one sidewalk repair a year. In some cases, the city needs to issue several warnings before it undertakes the repairs.

According to information provided by the city, the average cost for a sidewalk repair is around $40 per square foot, so a 5-foot-by-5-foot area would cost $1,000. In some cases, the city places a lien on a property to recover repair costs, particularly for homeowners struggling financially.

City Council also approved a new fee schedule for public records requests.

Instead of a flat hourly rate of $56, the council approved a four-tier rate depending on which department provides the public records.

If an administrative specialist processes the request, it will be $53 an hour. Administration or the city recorder will charge $75, a manager or deputy fire marshal will charge $85 and a city attorney will charge $95 an hour.

Copies of documents would be charged in addition to the public records fees.

Councilor Kevin Stine voiced support for the fee increases.

“I’m greatly appreciative of the work done on this,” he said.