Committee backs higher fire-permit fees, recommends pass-through to Eastside Fire and Rescue

Issaquah City Council Planning, Development & Environment Committee recommended increasing fire permit fees and passing those fees to Eastside Fire and Rescue to cover plan-review and inspection costs and to support adding staffing, the committee agreed Oct. 7.

The recommendation, made after a presentation by Eastside Fire and Rescue officials and city staff, asks the full City Council to consider the fee schedule included in Exhibit A at the Nov. 10 meeting. Committee chair Council Member Zach Hall led the discussion and took questions from council members and city staff.

Why it matters: Eastside Fire and Rescue (EFR) said current permit fees do not fully cover staff time for plan review and inspections. EFR officials presented time-on-task analytics and regional benchmarking that, they said, show many permit categories have been underpriced compared with actual labor and complexity. EFR and city staff said the additional revenue would be passed through to EFR and could help fund the fire marshal office and make possible an additional assistant fire marshal if partners collectively approve hiring.

During the presentation, Jeremy Hicks, fire marshal for Eastside Fire and Rescue, described the methodology used to set fees. Hicks said the department measured average review and inspection hours, grouped permit types to reduce variability, and aligned fees to a percentage of city building plan-review fees for design consistency. Hicks said the department uses a 15% share of the city…