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Council amends building-code fee schedule; raises administrative fee and sets after-hours inspection rates
Summary
Council committees reviewed outstanding code-enforcement violations and approved amendments to the building-code fee schedule, including raising an administrative processing fee and setting after-hours inspection rates (residential $75, commercial $150) effective March 3.
Committee members reviewed a long-running code-enforcement backlog and voted to amend the building-code fee schedule and associated resolutions, including a staged change to administrative processing fees and after-hours inspection charges.
Staff reported a large number of recorded outstanding violations in the city’s Municity system—about 4,900 entries dating back to 2019—attributable in part to record-keeping gaps, pandemic-era shutdowns and employee turnover. Staff said many administrative fees had been assessed and that annual tax-assessment processes attach unpaid administrative fees to property tax bills, but record reconciliation between code enforcement, tax assessor records and field crews is incomplete; staff committed to improving automation and cross-system communication to close that gap.
On fee policy, the committee considered multiple ordinance and resolution edits. Members agreed to set a new effective date of March 3, 2025, for the amended ordinance and companion resolution amending the building-code fee schedule. The committee approved changing the administrative processing fee previously $50 to $75 (as presented in the package) and set after-hours inspection rates at $75 for residential inspections and $150 for commercial inspections; the committee recorded a motion to update the green sheet and fee schedules to reflect the March 3 effective date.
Committee members also discussed operational approaches such as weekend or special-detail enforcement plans and whether overtime/time-and-a-half would apply when staff volunteer for weekend detail work; staff confirmed overtime rules would apply for hours that push employees over 40 in a workweek. Members emphasized the need to address system inefficiencies before raising many fees and asked staff to produce clearer reporting on collected vs. outstanding administrative fees.
The committee voted to move the ordinance and associated resolutions forward with the March 3 effective date and the after-hours fee split.
