LaSalle County committee moves to negotiate SafeBuilt fee increases after contractors report delays

The LaSalle County Land Use Committee on July 2 authorized staff to negotiate a contract amendment with SafeBuilt that would incorporate a proposed increase in building-permit fees after SafeBuilt warned it “cannot continue to operate at a negative gross profit margin.” Doug Stockley, the committee chair, said the recommendation will go to the county finance committee and then to the full county board for final approval.

Committee members and SafeBuilt representatives said the increase is intended to cover expanded plan-review work after the county adopted newer building-code requirements and to fund more review hours and on-site inspections. Brian (staff member) told the committee that SafeBuilt’s most recent schedule, dated June 2, included a $90-per-hour commercial plan-review rate, a $3.60 flat plan-review fee for projects under 7,500 square feet and an accessory-structure fee set at $0.17 per square foot.

The issue matters because contractors and homeowners told the committee in recent weeks that plan-review turnaround has lengthened. Committee member Tom Miller and others described cases where reviews took as long as three weeks, slowing construction starts and generating complaint calls to county offices. “We’re creeping out into three weeks and longer,” Miller said of current turnaround times.

SafeBuilt representatives, including Kenny Volkovich, identified as a state operator for SafeBuilt, and Matt Rogers, the county’s building inspector, said the company is moving most residential plan reviews in-house to Rogers so reviews are more consistent and faster. Rogers said he “service[s] the county, Monday, Wednesdays, and Fridays,” and SafeBuilt said it maintains backup inspectors who can cover days Rogers is not in the office.

The committee pressed SafeBuilt for concrete service standards and reporting. Katie (SafeBuilt representative) told members the contractor uses service-level targets for review time: five business days for residential initial reviews, 10 days for small commercial and 20 days for larger commercial projects. Committee members asked for a monthly report that would show permit counts and review times; Brian said he will request that from SafeBuilt and have the vendor or county staff present performance data at future meetings.

Committee members discussed what parts of the review should remain in-house or off-site. SafeBuilt said a more detailed, architect-level plan review would catch more code issues before construction but would require more plan detail from applicants and extend review time; the county and contractors said that trade-offs exist between completeness of review and speed. Several members urged the county to continue allowing a flat fee model for residential reviews rather than switching to an hourly residential charge.

The committee also heard the department’s monthly permit report. Bridal (staff member) said the department issued 73 permits in June and 218 year to date, including 34 wind-turbine permits, two MET tower permits and one commercial solar permit. Brian noted that SafeBuilt receives 90% of most permit fees under the current contract and the county retains 10%.

After discussion, committee member Steve Aubrey moved that Brian work with SafeBuilt to finalize contract language reflecting the negotiated fee schedule and service expectations, with the revised contract to return to the Land Use Committee before it goes to the finance committee and the full board. The motion, seconded by Kathy Owens, passed on a voice vote.

Committee members said they will monitor plan-review turnaround and contractor complaints and asked staff to bring a monthly performance summary and any proposed contract language back to the committee for review.

Less critical procedural details: committee members also discussed possible in-house alternatives if performance does not improve, and asked that SafeBuilt provide educations handouts describing key code changes adopted in the 2024 International Residential Code so contractors can better match plans to new requirements.