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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 03-06-1996 - X-A 1 ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS Action Agenda Item No X-A ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT Meeting Date: March 6, 1996 SUBJECT: Fire Inspection Program Fees ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT County Manager/Emergency PUBLIC HEARING YES NO x Management ------------------------------- BUDGET AMENDMENT REQUIRED YES NO x -------------------------------- ------------------------------- ATTACHMENT(S) INFORMATION CONTACT 2/29/96 Staff Report Rod Visser, ext 2300 Current Fee Schedule Nick Waters/Mike Tapp ext 3030 TELEPHONE NUMBER Hillsborough 732-8181 Chapel Hill 968-4501 Mebane 227-2031 Durham 688-7331 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- PURPOSE: To receive a report on current fire inspection program fees and on proposed staff update of the program fee schedule. BACKGROUND: As a result of changes to the North Carolina Building Code in late 1991, Orange County in 1993 implemented a program of State mandated fire inspections of various categories of facilities . Before the program was implemented, the Board approved a schedule of inspection fees that was designed to recover the costs of the mandated inspection program. Recently, the Board of Commissioners directed the County Manager- to examine the question of whether the current schedule of fire inspection program fees is as fair as possible. Staff have accomplished a preliminary review of this question, as outlined in the attached report. RECOMMENDATION: The Manager recommends that the Board receive the report as information, and provide any necessary direction concerning the course of action proposed by staff to update the current fire inspection program fee schedule. 2 MEMORANDUM TO: Orange County Board of Commissioners John M. Link, County Manager FRO od Visser, Assistant County Manager SUBJECT: Fire Inspection Program Fees DATE: February 29, 1996 Recently, the Board asked that we examine the current schedule of fire inspection program fees to determine if it is as fair as possible . As part of a preliminary review of this issue with -Emergency Management Director Nick Waters and his staff, I have concluded that it would be appropriate for the County to consider some changes to the fire inspection program fee schedule. We believe that modifications, particularly for those inspections of comparatively short duration, are in order. This report will provide a brief history of the fire inspection program in Orange County, and outline some proposed next steps by County staff to develop specific changes to the current fire inspection fee schedule. Brief History In late 1991, the State Building Code Council and Department of Insurance established a mandate that all Counties adopt a schedule of periodic fire inspections by January 1, 1993 . The Orange County Board of Commissioners in December 1992 formally adopted a schedule of fire inspections identical to the minimum frequency inspection schedule outlined in Section 107, Volume V of the North Carolina Fire Prevention Code . Inspections are required either twice a year, once a year, every two years, or every three years, depending on the category of facility. The County implemented the inspection program in 1993-94 , under a fee schedule (Attachment 1) approved by the Board of Commissioners with the adoption of the 1993-94 budget ordinance. This fee schedule, which is still in use, was based on estimates that mandated inspections would take, on average, 3 , 4 , 5, or 6 hours to complete for the various categories of facilities requiring inspection as established by the State . As the County did not have an extensive fire inspection program in place and thus no historical experience to rely upon, these estimates of inspection times were based on the Fire Marshal ' s professional judgement and information obtained from other jurisdictions that already had fire inspection programs in place . 3 At the Board' s direction, fees were established at a rate designed to make the fire inspection program self-supporting, with schools exempted from the cost of semi-annual inspections . The fire inspection program budget also absorbs the costs of inspecting County facilities such as office buildings, the jail, and courthouses. Staff calculated that full costs could be recovered on the basis of $30 per hour, to cover salary, benefits, supplies, equipment, vehicle, collection, administrative overhead, and indirect costs of program management . This led to the establishment of County fees of $90-$180, assuming inspection times of 3-6 hours. Facilities that fail the first inspection are reinspected within 30 days at no additional charge . If upon first reinspection, facilities remain out of compliance with uncorrected violations and with no good faith effort shown to make corrections, facilities are charged double the inspection fee for subsequent reinspections . In 1993-94, the County agreed to perform fire inspections on behalf of the Town of Hillsborough according to the State ' s periodic schedule. The County bills the Town for each inspection performed in accordance with the County fee schedule. It is my understanding that the Town has in turn billed the inspected facilities for the cost of the inspection paid to the County, plus an administrative overhead charge of 1016 . Initial Review of Current Fee Schedule Concerns have been raised recently that some inspections take significantly less time than the minimum three hours originally estimated when the program was initiated. It is important to note that for a full-cost recovery program to work as fairly as possible, time associated with travel to and from inspected facilities, for completion of inspection paperwork, and for billing and collection must be considered in addition to the time actually spent on site for the inspection itself . That notwithstanding, we believe that the County should consider revisions to the fee schedule that will establish some lower minimum cost of inspection to recognize those facilities that are comparatively quicker to inspect. There are a number of options for revisions, including consideration of the square footage of a facility as a factor in assessing fees, although square footage alone may not be a reliable indicator of the complexity or duration of required inspections . Another factor that could be considered in helping to maintain a full-cost recovery program would be to consider the additional costs associated with inspecting and permitting hazardous materials storage. We do believe that the most important factor in establishing a revised fee schedule should be the approximate time required to accomplish various categories of inspections . As with a visit to the doctor, dentist, or mechanic, services should be billed based on an average time of completion, recognizing there will be some variation in actual time spent from inspection to inspection. 4 Next Steps County staff, headed by Finance Director Ken Chavious, have already begun an extensive review of many County fees to determine possible modifications to the County' s overall schedule of fees for consideration by the Board of Commissioners later this Spring. The fire inspection program was, and is, slated to be included in this review. We plan to proceed under the assumption that the Board wishes to maintain the fire inspection program as self-supporting through fee revenue . Given that, we believe that a helpful step in determining the fairest fire inspection fee schedule will be to solicit the ideas of facility owners and operators who are involved in the fire inspection program. Furthermore, we plan to examine the fee structures in other jurisdictions, with an eye towards the fees charged elsewhere for facilities comparable to those in Orange County. Specifically, the staff plans are to invite input from representatives of the community affected by the program, and to fashion a revised fire inspection fee schedule for review and approval by the Board of Commissioners prior to presentation of the Manager' s Recommended 1996- 97 Budget . 5 Periodic Fire Safety Inspection Fees Tyne of Facility Fee Freguency Assembly $120 Annual Business $90 Triannual Church $120 Annual Day Care Facility $150 Annual Educational, Private $180 Semi-Annual Educational, Public $ 0 Semi-Annual Foster Care Residence $90 Annual Hazardous $150 Annual Industrial $150 Annual Institutional $120 Annual Mercantile $120 Tri-annual Residential $90 Annual Storage $90 Tri-annual l