The North Bend City Council voted unanimously May 20 to adopt an ordinance that replaces the city’s existing fire permit fee schedule with a standardized fee structure developed by Eastside Fire and Rescue (EIFR).

Colin Mercer introduced the item and said EIFR, which provides plan review and inspection services to North Bend, proposed a standardized, cost-recovery fee model to reduce variation across partner jurisdictions and reflect actual staff time. “The item before you this evening is a request to update the city of North Bend's fire permits and fire permit fee structure to harmonize them among other jurisdictions within Eastside Fire and Rescue's district,” Mercer said.

Eastside Fire and Rescue Fire Marshal Jeremy Hicks summarized the fee study and examples of the proposed changes. “My name is Jeremy Hicks, fire marshal, Eastside Fire and Rescue, south division,” Hicks said. He said the last substantive fee review for North Bend was in 2015 and that EIFR’s analysis calculated fully loaded costs for plan review and inspections.

Hicks gave examples from the study: a single-family residence review and sprinkler permit currently collecting about $600 would be recalculated to roughly $1,236 to reflect staff time; a 10-unit multifamily building currently producing about $2,300 in fees would have an estimated cost-based fee of about $4,047; and EIFR showed the prior $130 charge for an underground connection substantially understates the staff time involved in reviews and inspections for those systems. Hicks said the study used analytics across seven jurisdictions to calculate hours for plan review and field inspections.

Council members from both the Finance & Administration and Community & Economic Development committees had reviewed the proposal and recommended full council approval. Council member Bridal Elwood moved to approve AB 25-047; the motion was seconded by Mister Gotthoff (as recorded). The ordinance was approved on first and final reading without opposition.

Council members discussed ongoing annual review of fees; Hicks recommended an annual review based on collected analytics so future changes could reflect updated review times and technologies.

The ordinance updates MBMC Chapter 15.31.050 and directs city staff to codify the EIFR schedule; partner jurisdictions noted in the presentation included Mercer Island, Carnation, Woodinville, Duvall and Sammamish.