TO: Mayor and City Commission
FROM: Samuel A. May, Interim City Manager
DATE: June 21, 2017
Title
APPROVAL OF AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 9 - BUILDINGS, AMENDING ARTICLE III - FEES, SECTION 9-21; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY; PROVIDING FOR CODIFICATION; PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
BACKGROUND: The proposed amendment provides for building permit fee waiver for the City’s Capital Improvement Projects (CIP) and reduces the plumbing permit fees for backflow certification.
Allowing the fee waiver for City projects will facilitate removing the requirement from the City bids, which in turn will eliminate the need for contractors to estimate the fees and include as part of the bid. This change simplifies budget development, bidding, and permit processing for CIP projects.
The building department plans to subscribe to an online vendor to manage the backflow certification program to improve the overall efficiency of the program. The lower fee reflects the reduced costs to the City in managing the program utilizing an online vendor.
RECOMMENDATION: Approve
FISCAL IMPACT:
Permit Fee Waiver: No impact to overall City budget since the current process transfers funds from one City operating account to the other.
Lower Certification Fee: The online tracking and notification features available with the online vendor will facilitate higher percentage of certifications resulting in higher revenues and will account for any shortfall from reduced fee.
CONTACT PERSON: Reddy Chitepu, PE, Director of DEES
Richard Nixon, Interim Building Director