Agenda - Council Work Session - 07/10/2012

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CC Work Session Meeting Date: 07/10/2012 By: Colleen Lasher, Administrative Services Title: Discussion Regarding Contracted Building Official Services 2.2. Background: Strategic Goals As part of the 2012 City Council Strategic Goals, Staff has been analyzing expenses related to the administration of building permits, as well as the most cost effective way to deliver these services while providing continuity and stability in an efficient manner. The 2012 Strategic Goals note a comprehensive review of all required permits and inspections. Staff has not completed this full analysis of all expenses related to the administration of the Building Code, but is nearing completion of this analysis. Staff is currently exploring ways to reduce costs now and into the future in order to effectively and efficiently deliver these services. Staff is currently exploring such things as ePermits, electronic /wireless field data entry, and streamlined /automated reporting. In addition, Staff has recently submitted a similar analysis to ICMA as part of the performance measurement program they provide. Staff is awaiting the results of that analysis to better focus further analysis. Staff is forwarding the Building Official discussion due to time considerations and to finalize details of the 2013 Preliminary Budget related to the Building Division. As the Building Division completes plan review on major projects currently under review and completes many of the administrative projects that need completion in the near future, Staff will complete the analysis as requested by the City Council. Background In December, 2011, the City began contracting for Building Official services due to a vacancy in the position. The City had already been contracting for building inspection and plan review services. As part of this restructuring, it was determined that the Building Official role would be evaluated in six (6) months to determine a long term solution to this role. This six (6) month review period would also coincide with the 2013 budget discussion. The case was discussed by the Personnel Committee and City Council on December 13, 2011. The current rate for contracted services with Inspectron is $50 per hour. Current service levels have required 40 hours per week of Building Official services and 40 hours per week of building inspection and plan review services. It is anticipated that the building inspection and plan review services will drop to 20 -30 hours per week upon completion of plan review of two (2) major projects and Staff catching up with two (2) larger projects that have been on hold pending plan review completion. During other times of the year, the hours per week could reduce even further. Note: Due to the fact that the original contract was to provide building inspection and plan review services, and did not include providing Building Official services, it is anticipated that the contract will need to be revised to reflect the services provided. It is anticipated that this would be reflected in the 2013 budget. Current Structure The Building Division is currently comprised of a Building Official (contract services -40 hours per week), a Building Inspector (contracted services -10 to 40 hours per week), a Permit Technician, and is supervised by the Senior Planner. As part of the expense analysis of the Building Division, Staff recommends that the Building Official is needed 40 hours per week in order to provide timely response to plan review, inspections, customer service inquiries, administrative projects, and code enforcement throughout the year. It should be noted that a portion of the Building Official's time is spent on activities that are not directly tied to an active Permit review or inspection (such as administrative tasks and code enforcement activities noted above). Some of these activities are delayed during peak permit levels to allow Staff to focus on administration of active permits. The current contracted services provided by Inspectron, Inc. have been positive and have provided good customer