DBI outlines multi-year fee increases and a new $3 million technology reserve; community partners warn cuts will reduce tenant services

Summary

At a Jan. 15 hearing the Department of Building Inspection presented a draft two-year budget that would raise fees in two phases toward full cost recovery by FY 2027, create a technology reserve, and reflects a proposed 15% general fund reduction. Community-based organizations said proposed cuts would shrink tenant outreach and habitability work.

The Department of Building Inspection presented its first of two budget hearings to the Building Inspection Commission on Jan. 15, detailing planned fee increases, a technology reserve, and potential cuts to community grants that support tenant outreach.

Patrick O’Riordan, the department director, described operational reforms completed in 2024 and asserted the department’s objective of improving permit review and inspection timeliness. “We are systemically improving the way we do business and rebuilding DBI one nail at a time, and one year at a time,” O’Riordan said.

Alex Koskinen, deputy director for administration, said the department is pursuing a phased fee increase to reach full cost recovery by fiscal year 2027 and to rebuild reserves. Under the department’s plan, fee revenue would rise from an estimated $60 million in the…

DBI outlines multi-year fee increases and a new $3 million technology reserve; community partners warn cuts will reduce tenant services

Summary

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