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Building and rental-registration budgets largely level-funded as short‑term rental ordinance stalls
Summary
Building inspection and rental-registration staff told the council their budgets are mostly level-funded with small inflationary increases; rental-registration staffing and third-party contract costs are budgeted but contingent on the town’s pending short‑term rental ordinance.
The departments that process permits, building inspections and rental registration presented largely level-funded budgets on April 15 but noted some planned staff positions and third-party contract costs tied to the outcome of the town’s pending short‑term rental ordinance.
Wayne Pimentel, Building Inspector, said his department’s operating budget is essentially level-funded with minor inflation-related increases in supplies, professional meetings and licensing. He noted a part-time zoning position is budgeted and that three rental-registration positions are in the packet but not yet filled; the town is holding the full staffing plan pending the final status of the short‑term rental ordinance.
On rental registration, staff said two positions and a significant contracted-services line (about $350,000 in the packet) were included to support administration and compliance of any new short‑term rental regime; town staff noted some of that total would be adjusted once fund balance and expected revenue are finalized. Staff also said the town had delayed collecting special short‑term-rental fees while the ordinance was stayed by court order; once the stay was lifted the department reached out to property owners to resume registration in advance of the summer season.
Councilors and staff discussed the department’s progress toward online permitting and registration. Pimentel said planning and permitting applications and rental registration moved online in recent years and that the town shares a plotter/printer with planning that requires a maintenance agreement. He said the town is not yet eliminating paper entirely but had made significant progress with electronic permitting and expects planning/zoning applications to move online as well.
Christine (Town Manager) told the council there will be adjustments to the budget before the public hearing, including a reduction of an unassigned fund-balance placeholder and a likely reduction of the contracted-services request by about $100,000 to reflect available funds. No votes were taken; staff said they would return with revised figures at the public hearing and subsequent workshops.
