HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 05-14-1996 - IX-A t
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ORANGE COUNTY
BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
Action Agenda
Item No =X_
ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT
Meeting Date: May 14, 1996
SUBJECT: Fire Inspection Program Fee Schedule
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DEPARTMENT Emergency Management/ PUBLIC HEARING YES NO x
County Manager -------------------------------
BUDGET AMENDMENT
REQUIRED YES NO x
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ATTACHMENT(S) INFORMATION CONTACT
5/9/96 Staff Report Nick Waters, ext 3030
Proposed Fee Schedule Rod Visser, ext 2300
Current Fee Schedule TELEPHONE NUMBER
Hillsborough 732-8181
Chapel Hill 968-4501
Mebane 227-2031
Durham 688-7331
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PURPOSE: To consider revising the current Orange County fee schedule
for State-mandated fire inspections.
BACKGROUND: At the March 6, 1996 regular meeting of the Orange
County Board of Commissioners, staff presented a report to the Board on
the current fee schedule associated with the County' s State-mandated
fire inspection program. The Board' s direction to staff was to develop
a revised fee schedule that is more fair than the existing schedule,
while maintaining a structure that will recoup the costs of the fire
inspection program. The accompanying report describes the process
staff followed in preparing a revised fire inspection fee schedule
proposed for implementation for 1996-97.
Staff and the County Attorney are also working on a proposed Fire
Prevention Ordinance which would adopt the State fire code for Orange
County, address Board concerns about open burning, and provide for the
permitting of hazardous activities such as fireworks, blasting, and
flammable liquid storage tanks (both above and below ground) . Staff
expects that this ordinance can be presented for initial Board review
in the near future.
RECOMMENDATION: The Manager recommends that the Board of Commissioners
consider the proposed fire inspection fee schedule and adopt it to take
effect July 1, 1996 .
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MEMORANDUM
TO: Orange County Board of Commissioners
John Link, County Manager
FROM: Rod Visser, Assistant County Manager
Nick Waters, Director of Emergency Management
DATE: May 9, 1996
RE: Revised Fire Inspection Program Fees
Based on the Board' s guidance to develop a new fire inspection fee
schedule that is more fair than the current schedule, while still
recouping the operating costs of the fire inspection program, staff
have prepared the attached proposal . One of staff ' s principal charges
was to address the concern that under the existing fee schedule,
inspections for some facilities with very small areas cost as much or
more than inspections for facilities of much greater size and
complexity.
The existing fee schedule (page 6) includes the following elements :
initial inspection fees ranging from $90-$180; reinspections within 30
days, when necessary, at no charge; and subsequent inspections at
double the initial fee if facilities remain out of compliance upon the
first reinspection, with no good faith effort shown to correct initial
violations .
The revised schedule would feature initial inspection fees that are
lower for smaller facilities, which generally take less time to inspect
than larger facilities . The revised schedule of initial fees is $10
higher for every increment of 2500 square feet in the facility to be
inspected, with a cap of $200 . There would be a moderate cost for any
required first reinspection, but any subsequent reinspections would
bear a fee double the initial fee, as an incentive for early compliance
with fire code requirements. The frequency of inspections would remain
the same, based on the inspection intervals laid out for various
categories of facilities in Chapter V of the State Building Code, which
mandates the County' s fire inspection program.
After preparing an initial draft revised fee schedule, staff invited
comments from a group of business owners whose facilities are subject
to mandated periodic inspections. Participants in the discussions
included: Jack Davis, MOPACO; Lindsay Efland, Efland Hosiery; Jeff
Wells, Lu-E-G' s; Gattis Ramsey, Ramsey' s Body Shop; and Wesley Woods,
Dual Supply. The clear consensus of this group was that use of
general County revenues is a more appropriate way of paying for the
fire inspection program than fees charged to owners of inspected
facilities . The group' s view is that all citizens use the facilities
that are inspected at one time or another, and therefore the enhanced
safety conditions are a benefit that accrues to the public in general .
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Discussions indicated that after some initial dissatisfaction with the
fire inspection program begun late in 1993 (because it was new,
mandated, and has an associated fee) , most facilities have gotten used
to the program and recognize the benefits of improved fire safety that
the program produces . The group suggested an alternative financing
approach, which would involve initial inspections and first
reinspections being covered by general County revenues . The group felt
very strongly that there should be substantial penalties charged to
facilities that required any subsequent reinspections, however.
Recognizing the group' s view, but also the staff ' s charge to present
to the Board a revised, self-supporting fire inspection fee schedule,
we did solicit from the group the suggestion that there be greater
distinction in the thresholds of square footage and accompanying fees .
The revised fee schedule proposal presented with this report has thus
been changed from the draft revision that was presented to the business
group for review.
We believe that the proposed fee schedule revision is more fair than
our current fee schedule, because many of the smaller facilities which
require less time and effort to inspect would pay less than they do
currently. We must also note, that in order for smaller facilities to
pay less under a program that still "pays for itself" , larger
facilities that are comparatively more complex and require more time to
inspect would pay somewhat more under the revised schedule. We have
tried to mitigate that by proposing a cap that ensures a fee no higher
than $200 (in contrast to the current maximum initial inspection fee of
$180) .
If the proposed fee schedule adequately addresses the Board' s policy
concerns, we recommend that it be implemented on July 1, 1996 . If
additional work or revisions are needed, staff will endeavor to
accomplish that so that Board review could take place during 1996-97
budget deliberations in June and still lead to implementation of a new
fee schedule on July 1, 1996 .
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PROPOSED ORANGE COUNTY FIRE INSPECTION FEE SCHEDULE
Proposed Implementation Date: July 1, 1996
Business (every three years) ; Storage (every three years) ;
Foster Care (every year) ; Residential (e.g. group homes,
common areas of multifamily complexes - every year)
Initial Reinspection 3rd
Up to 2500 sgft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 . 00 30 . 00 100 . 00
2501 to 5000 sgft . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 . 00 30 . 00 120 . 00
5001 to 7500 sgft . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 . 00 35 . 00 140 . 00
7501 to 10, 000 sgft . . . . . . . . . . 80 . 00 35 . 00 160 . 00
10, 001 to 12, 500 sgft . . . . . . . . 90 . 00 35 . 00 180 . 00
12, 501 to 15, 000 sgft . . . . . . . . 100 . 00 35 . 00 200 . 00
15, 001 to 17, 500 sgft . . . . . . . . 110 . 00 40 . 00 220 . 00
17, 501 to 20, 000 sgft . . . . . . . . 120 . 00 40 . 00 240 . 00
20, 001 to 22, 500 sgft . . . . . . . . 130 . 00 40 -00 260 . 00
22, 501 to 25, 000 sgft . . . . . . . . 140 . 00 45 . 00 280 . 00
25, 001 to 27, 500 sgft. . . . . . . . 150 . 00 45 . 00 300 . 00
27, 501 to 30, 000 sgft . . . . . . . . 160 . 00 45 . 00 320 . 00
30, 001 to 32, 500 sgft . . . . . . . . 170 . 00 45 . 00 340 . 00
32, 501 to 35, 000 sgft . . . . . . . . 180 . 00 45 . 00 360 . 00
35, 001 to 37, 500 sgft . . . . . . . . 190 . 00 45 . 00 380 . 00
37, 501 and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . .200 . 00 50 . 00 400 . 00
Assembly (every year)
Institutional (every year)
Day Care (every year)
Mercantile (every three years)
Initial Reinspection 3rd
Up to 2500 sgft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 . 00 30 . 00 130 . 00
2501 to 5000 sgft. . . . . . . . . . . . 75 . 00 30 . 00 150 . 00
5001 to 7500 sgft. . . . . . . . . . . . 85 . 00 35 . 00 170 . 00
7501 to 10, 000 sgft. . . . . . . . . . 95 . 00 35 . 00 190 . 00
10, 001 to 12, 500 sgft. . . . . . . . 105 . 00 35 . 00 210 . 00
12, 501 to 15, 000 sgft. . . . . . . . 115 . 00 35 . 00 230 . 00
15, 001 to 17, 500 sgft . . . . . . . . 125 . 00 40 . 00 250 . 00
17, 501 to 20, 000 sgft. . . . . . . . 135 . 00 40 . 00 270 . 00
20, 001 to 22, 500 sgft. . . . . . . . 145 . 00 40 . 00 290 . 00
22, 501 to 25, 000 sgft . . . . . . . . 155 . 00 40 . 00 310 . 00
25, 001 to 27, 500 sgft . . . . . . . . 165 . 00 45 . 00 330 . 00
27, 501 to 30, 000 sgft. . . . . . . . 175 . 00 45 . 00 350 . 00
30, 001 to 32, 500 sgft . . . . . . . . 185 . 00 45 . 00 370 . 00
32, 501 to 35, 000 sgft . . . . . . . . 195 . 00 45 . 00 390 . 00
35, 001 and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . .200 . 00 45 . 00 400 . 00
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Hazardous (every year)
Industrial (every two years)
Private Educational (every two years)
Initial Reinspection 3rd
Up to 2500 sgft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 . 00 30 . 00 160 . 00
2501 to 5000 sgft . . . . . . . . . . . . 90 . 00 35 . 00 180 . 00
5001 to 7500 sgft . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 . 00 35 . 00 200 . 00
7501 to 10, 000 sgft. . . . . . . . . . 110 . 00 35 . 00 220 . 00
10, 001 to 12, 500 sgft . . . . . . . . 120 . 00 40 . 00 240 . 00
12, 501 to 15, 000 sgft . . . . . . . . 130 . 00 40 . 00 260 . 00
15, 001 to 17, 500 sgft . . . . . . . . 140 . 00 40 . 00 280 . 00
17, 501 to 20, 000 sgft . . . . . . . . 150 . 00 40 . 00 300 . 00
20, 001 to 22, 500 sgft. . . . . . . . 160 . 00 45 . 00 320 . 00
22, 501 to 25, 000 sgft . . . . . . . . 170 . 00 45 . 00 340 . 00
25, 001 to 27, 500 sgft . . . . . . . . 180 . 00 45 . 00 360 . 00
27, 501 to 30, 000 sgft. . . . . . . . 190 . 00 45 . 00 380 . 00
30, 001 and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . .200 .00 50 . 00 400 . 00
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CURRENT ORANGE COUNTY FIRE INSPECTION FEE SCHEDULE
Effective July 1, 1993
Tyne of Facility Fee Frequency
Assembly $120 Every year
Business $90 Every three years
Church $120 Every year
Day Care Facility $150 Every year
Educational, Private $180 Every two years
Foster Care Residence $90 Every year
Hazardous $150 Every year
Industrial $150 Every two years
Institutional $120 Every year
Mercantile $120 Every three years
Residential(e.g.group homes) $90 Every year
Storage $90 Every three years