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Building commissioner budget unchanged except salaries; council asks about permit fees and enforcement costs
Summary
Richard Rawlings, building commissioner, told the finance committee his 2026 budget is largely the same aside from the 4% salary increases; council members raised questions about utility allocations, permit and administrative fees, trash-and-debris enforcement and a vacant clerk position.
Richard Rawlings, building commissioner, told the finance committee his proposed 2026 budget is straightforward and mainly reflects the 4% salary guidance from the controller's office.
"Basically all of the salaried positions got a raise of 4% according to the controller, and I believe everything else pretty much stayed the same as it was," Rawlings said.
Council members pressed on details. Several said the administration had been paying certain department heads at rates higher than the salary ordinance adopted by the council and asked for the salary ordinance and minutes of the adoption. Committee members also noted the building commissioner's utilities and square footage-based allocations appeared higher than comparable departments and discussed whether utilities should be centralized under the Board of Works.
Councilmembers asked whether permit and inspection fees could be raised to offset costs. Rawlings said the department sometimes recoups costs through administrative fines and court orders for trash and debris cases and that the office has recently begun pursuing such cleanups through the court process.
On staffing, Rawlings said a clerk position is budgeted as part-time and that some personnel are funded through part-time lines because of SB 1 constraints. Council members asked for clarity about whether the department would fill that clerk slot and how permit fees or liens recover enforcement costs.
No vote or formal action was taken at the working session; the committee asked staff to provide the salary ordinance and the minutes referenced and to continue discussing utility allocation methods during the budget process.
