Agenda - Council - 07/09/2013 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Council's consideration with the City of Saint Francis to provide assistance with plan review and inspections. This is in addition to the services provided by Inspectron, Inc. Due to an urgent need, staff from Saint Francis has provided some assistance on the week of July 1, 2013 in order to address the high volume of inspection requests during a short week. This was only approved as a temporary solution until the City Council could consider approving the attached agreement. This interim solution appears to be a good compromise that allows both the City and Inspectron to make sound staffing decision based on forecasted service level needs. Staff recommends that it is important to continue the current relationship with Inspectron, Inc. Saint Francis currently has a full-time Building Official and part-time Building Inspector. Staff has been able to secure an arrangement to capitalize on the additional time available from the part-time Building Inspector. The City of Saint Francis has a similar agreement on a longer term basis with the City of Nowthen. Staff would like to disclose that the Saint Francis Building Official, Andrew Schreder, is a former Ramsey Building Inspector. This position was eliminated due to budget reductions based on service levels. Staff would recommend ratification of the service agreement with the City of Saint Francis on an interim basis and allow Staff to continue discussions to see if this could be a longer term solution. The City of Ramsey has a history of successful relationships and collaborations with the cities of Saint Francis and Nowthen. However, Staff would desire to complete the current recruitment for a Building Official before approving any long term staffing decisions. Again, at this time, it would be recommended that this would be balanced with the existing partership with Inspectron, Inc. Notification: No notification is required. Observations/Alternatives: Current permit revenue updates through mid -day July 3, 2013 are as follows (a detailed report is attached to this case): Revenue Type Forecasted Actual % of Forecasted % of Year Complete Base Building Permit $260,000 $198,461 25 76% 50% Plan Review $125,000 $108,195 05 86% 50% Plumbing $20,000 $25,268 00 126% 50% Heatmg/Mech $20,000 $30,391 07 151% 50% Electrical $30,000 $34,877 75 116% 50% Septic $20,000 $6,570.00 32% 50% Urban Sewer $7,000 $7,125 00 101% 50% Urban Water $7,000 $7,479 80 106% 50% Alternative # 1. Approve interim solution and Agreement for Services with City of Saint Francis. This alternative allows the City to complete the recruitment for the Building Official, and utilize that individual to assist in the formulation of a longer term staffing proposal, which could include continued parterships with Inspectron, Inc. and City of Saint Francis or the addition of an additional staff member (either part time or full time) depending on service level demands and City Council desires. Alternative #2. Continue with current arrangement with Inspectron, Inc. that provides forty (40) hours of service and not approve an agreement with City of Saint Francis as an interim solution for service level gap (an additional twelve [12] hours of service). Again, the service level gap is not due to the quality of service provided by Inspectron, Inc., rather a need to properly addressing staff levels during the recruitment of Ramsey's Building Official before adding any additional staff. This alternative is not recommended by Staff. Staff recommends that the current service levels without the assistance are unacceptable to our customers. This interim solution appears to balance recruitment needs and desires of both Inspectron, Inc. and the City. Alternative #3. Hire an additional Building Inspector to replace a portion of service levels provided by Inspectron, Inc. and continue parternship with Inspectron, Inc. for service needs above this level. This could be a longer term solution; however, Staff desires input of the future Ramsey Building Official before making this longer term decisino. Recommendation: