Agenda - Council Work Session - 07/10/2012

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service in a timely manner. Recommendation: Staff would recommend that the City remain with contract services for building inspection and plan review services on an as needed basis. Contracted services allow the City to respond better to seasonal variations in service level needs. In addition, the contracted services provide access to additional areas of expertise and review. However, contracted services for the Building Official role presents the possibility of disruption in the continuity of delivery of services and is more costly, assuming a Building Official at a full-time equivelent. There are two (2) options to consider for providing Building Official services, depending on the level of guaranteed coverage the City Council is comfortable in providing. Option 1 would be to hire a Building Official as a regular, full -time employee of the City. This option would appear to be the preferred option if the City Council decides 40 hours of coverage per week is necessary year round. However, Option 2 would be to continue with contracted services for the Building Official. This option would be acceptable if the City Council is comfortable in assuming that the Building Official hours could be reduced in the non -peak times, thus creating some gaps in coverage. The City does not have full control over assignments directed by the contracted services. The contracted service could decide to re- assign its staff over time to other locations resulting in the loss of expertise and know how specific to Ramsey. As each community has slightly different processes, rates, and permit software, it is necessary to provide the individual contractor with professional development related to the City's unique features and culture. Naturally, there are direct and indirect costs involved in contractor development and staff is concerned with potential turnover. Staff would recommend an external recruitment to hire a full -time regular Building Official. Given the current fees paid for contracted Building Official services and the City's current Building Official pay scale, the net savings to the City could be approximately $16,000 the first year with continued savings in years 2, 3, 4, 5. Year 6 (step 6 - - -top of the scale) would be the only year when costs would be slightly more than the contracted rate (approximately $1,972.00 more). These calculations include salary and benefits, are based on the 2012 pay scale, and are estimates only. The current contract for services is for $50 per hour. Since the City does not pay vacation time to the contracted employee, the maximum number of hours paid for a full -time equivelent is 2,000 hours ($50 x 2,000 hours = $100,000). Savings would still be realized in monitoring contracted inspection hours and using only as needed. Finally, it is anticipated that the rate may increase slightly if the City chooses to continue to contract for Building Official services, which is in addition to the original scope of the contract. The current supervision structure is proposed to remain in place, with the Senior Planner leading the Planning Division and the Building Division. Note: The two (2) individuals currently serving Ramsey in contracted services would not be eligible for an internal recruitment. It is important to note that the contract with Inspectron includes a 'buy -out' clause if the City chooses to hire a current employee of lnspectron within one (1) of said employee providing service to the City. Said buy -out would be 10% of the employee's first year annual salary with the City. Funding Source: The Building Official position, whether a regular, full -time employee or contracted services, is a component of the General Fund. Expenses of the Building Division are paid by Building Permit revenue collected when Building Permits are issued. Council Action: Based on discussion. Attachments Building Inspection Services Contract Minnesota Rules Chapter 1300 (Administration of Building Code)