Marshall City Council approves IBTS building-inspection contract after heated public debate over fees

The Marshall City Council on a 6‑to‑2 vote approved a two‑year service agreement with the Institute for Building Technology and Safety (IBTS) to provide plan review, building inspections and related technical services for the city.

The vote followed more than an hour of public comment from local contractors, developers and residents who said they learned of IBTS’s proposed fee structure shortly before the meeting and worried the new charges would raise construction costs. Several speakers asked for a delay and a community meeting with city staff and IBTS to review how permits, inspections and code enforcement will be handled.

IBTS representative Mark Mandel, identified in the meeting as the Kansas City regional building official for IBTS, told the council that IBTS’s flat fees for a typical single‑family house in the contract are a $300 plan review fee and $1,200 for inspections, and that some other hourly rates in the contract apply only when IBTS is…