At a public meeting on Vashon last week, King County received several comments on its proposal to charge annual fees to all King County residents who have onsite septic systems, and officials say they remain open to feedback.

Between 50 and 60 people went to the Monday night meeting, according to several islanders who attended, later indicating many who spoke up expressed unhappiness with the proposal.

News that the county wanted to begin charging fees to owners of septic systems because of pollution concerns came to light last winter. Now, with a proposal in place, county officials have completed a series of four public meetings, including one in Maple Valley, where nearly 600 people reportedly showed up.

The proposal, available on the King County website, indicates proposed options for annual fees range from $23 for a rural septic system owner to $37 for an urban/shoreline septic system owner. Low-income seniors who are part of the assessor’s office property tax exemption program would be given a discount.

Robin Hill, a program manager at Seattle-King County Public Health, led the Vashon meeting and said that islanders’ comments were recorded and will be considered.

“We did not come here for the community to rubber stamp our proposal,” she said. “We are taking community input very seriously. We are listening and are confident that when we have a revised proposal, it will reflect what we’ve heard,” she said in an interview last week.

Among those frustrated is islander Beth de Groen, who owns Windermere Realty.

“We have functioning septic systems. We pay for permits and maintaining our systems. Why are we paying you (King County) for a functional system?” she said following the meeting.

In all, 85,000 septic system owners in unincorporated King County would pay the fees, providing enough funding for the county to build a $3.4 million septic system operations and maintenance program.

Such a program is required by law, Hill said, and King County has been out of compliance since the law was passed in 2007.

Information online indicates that counties are supposed to identify high-risk areas for pollution from failing septic systems, identify operation and maintenance requirements commensurate with risks, maintain records of operation and maintenance activities and enforce septic system requirements, among other tasks.

King County does not currently have a funding source for these activities and is working to develop one and come into compliance with state law, Hill said.

Along with setting new fees for the proposal, intended to go into effect Jan. 1, 2017, the county would abolish other fees, Hill said, including a $28 fee charged at the time of septic system inspections and a $40 time-of-sale fee. However, an additional time-of-sale fee would be increased from $111 to $184. This fee has not increased since 2007, Hill said.

Among the county’s concerns, she added, is that many homeowners rarely inspect their systems, which are often intended to be inspected every three years. However, King County data indicates only about 2 percent of septic system owners do so — a situation, Hill said, that would be improved by more oversight. Plans for the county’s proposed program, following state law, include education and outreach, a focus on pollution hot spots and management and enforcement of maintenance requirements.

While many islanders were upset by another county fee and other elements of the proposed program, Hill said some of the other messages expressed were quite clear.

“Some homeowners had not had good experiences with King County and felt they were taxed without having their needs addressed. We heard that,” she said. “We recognize the need to improve customer service.”

Now, Hill said, those working on this issue are determining when they will go back to the Board of Health with a revised proposal. A July vote has been postponed, allowing more time for feedback.

She also acknowledged that the county gave short notice for the recent meeting and apologized.

“When we do further outreach, we will give appropriate notice,” she said.

To read the proposal and comment, see kingcounty.gov/depts/health/board-of-health/proceedings/briefing-16-B12.aspx.