Agenda - Council Work Session - 08/28/2012

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The City recently participated in a performance management analysis through the ICMA. Results appear to be favorable to the City as it relates to the operation of the Building Division compared to many other communities. It appears that the City is operating efficiently, that being a measure of relatively low expense per permit. One item that the City may want to explore further is the analysis of valuation compared to total number of permits issued. The CPM responded that the City's total valuation appears to be low compared to the number of permits issued. The results may signal that the City is not factoring the correct valuation for projects. If an adjustment to the City's calculation on valuation is necessary, the City would also need to re -address the fee per valuation calculation to ensure that the fee is commensurate with the service provided. General Analysis Also included as an attachment is a matrix of all Building Permit Rates and Fees collected since 2001. Please note that although the list of fees has expanded, the net result was an attempt to ensure that the fee was commensurate with the service. In other words, a separate charge was created for both residential and commercial, versus the same calculation for both. The expanded list also introduced fixed-rate fees for many smaller projects, consistent with the Code, to ensure that the fee better reflected the service being provided. The overall expenses related to the Building Division have reduced over the past several years. However, much of this expense reduction can be attributed to a reduction in demand for services, and thus a reduction in Staff resources required to administer the Code. The per permit costs have not reduced at the same percentage as overall costs, and in most cases have remained flat or increased. Staff has made every attempt maximize the time utilized through the contract with Inspectron, while still maintaining a 5-10 day review window and a 24-48 hour scheduling window. Staff would recommend experiencing an entire fiscal year under the current contract for building official, plan review, and inspection services prior to making any major changes to the fee schedule. Finally, the attached PowerPoint presentation includes recommendations that will help Staff work more effectively to maximize the resources currently available. These recommendations may include an up -front capital cost and on -going maintenance, but will hopefully reduce costs over time and maximize efficiency. Recommendation: Based on discussion. Funding Source: Review of Building Permit Rates and Fees is being handled as part of regular Staff duties. Council Action: Based on discussion. Provide feedback on potential adjustments to 2013 Rates and Fees. Attachments MSB Chapter 1300 - Administration 2012 Rates and Fees Current Fee Schedule Historical Rates and Fee Matrix 1997 UBC Recommended Fee Schedule LMC Memo Review Process Presentation CPM Results