During budget review Council Member Garcia asked for details about a technology fund inside the building-permit program that has accumulated roughly $1.2 million from a 10% technology fee on permits.

Dan, the building official, described the fund's origin: "There was an ordinance to add a 10% technology fee to each permit that's issued. So what you're seeing there is a collection of historical 10% on each permit on an annual basis that now we're at a million dollars." He said the town has considered technology investments such as AI-assisted plan review but had not yet adopted a firm plan or timeline for spending the money.

Council members pressed legal and accounting limits. Council Member Herzberg noted that funds derived from permit fees are typically contained within the building fund: "You cannot take money from the building fund and use it for other operations like stormwater or general operations or parks or anything else." The town manager and budget director confirmed the fund earns interest and that fund-accounting rules and prior ordinances limit transfers to other funds without further legal review. Melissa added that the building fee revenue is an enterprise (self-supporting) fund.

Some council members suggested exploring legally permissible transfers or contracting approaches to use a portion of building revenues for code enforcement tasks that enforce the Florida Building Code. The town manager and staff agreed to explore whether a portion of building-derived revenue could be used to fund code enforcement activities that directly support building-code compliance, and to bring legal analysis back to council.

Why it matters: The tech-fee balance is a sizable pool that council members saw as a potential near-term resource for town priorities; staff noted statutory and ordinance limits on cross-fund use and recommended legal review and a precise proposal outlining allowable uses and proportional allocations.

Next steps: Staff to provide an itemized history of fee collections, the governing ordinance(s) for the 10% technology fee and an analysis of allowable transfers or uses, plus a plan and cost estimate if the council wants to fund specific building-technology upgrades or code-enforcement positions.