Agenda - Council Work Session - 12/01/2009

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cost for internal staff to perform the inspections is also attached for Council reVIew. Building Inspection hours for 2009 Based on the number of actual recorded inspection at an average of 30 minutes per inspection, the following is a summary of the inspection hours per month. July 194 inspection hours (485 hrs/week) August 153 inspection hours (38.25 hrs/week) September 223 inspection hours (55.75 hrs/week) October 166 inspection hours (41.5 hrs/week) November 100 inspections hours (25 hrs/week) In addition to the building inspection numbers, the division has done 55 rental inspections at 42 hours, 54 septic system site reviews at 26 hours, approximately 150 city code violations visits. Building inspections hours fluctuate by season and tend to be higher during warmer months. Contracting for building inspection services would allow the city to manage from day to day the number of hours that are needed for building inspections thereby reducing the costs of providing this service to residents and contractors. Staff anticipates that a contract building inspector would be needed, on average, for three days per week, however, that figure could be higher or lower depending on activity levels and training time, as the city may not always have the same inspector. Staff is recommending that two staff be retained in the Building Division - the Building Official and the Building Permit Technician. Staff feels it is critical to have an in-house Building Official to perform the duties of managing the inspection contract, performing plan review, managing the septic system program (ISTS), and being available to residents and contractors in responding to questions and resolving conflicts. The Permit Technician position manages the Permit and Inspections Management System (PIMS) software that tracks all permits and building projects, processes and issues permits, schedules inspections, and produces reports regarding building activity; staff feels it is critical for this position to remain in-house. The Council will recall that during 2009, three full time Building Inspectors and the building division secretary position were laid-off. A transition to contracted inspection services would result in the lay-off of one additional building inspector position, leaving no in-house building inspectors. There are significant costs associated with layoffs, therefore, staff is recommending that the Council carefully consider this shift to contract inspections to be a mid to long term solution for building inspections services, particularly when one considers the increase in activity that will come with Town Center and other development within the city. Staff anticipates making a recommendation to Council regarding