Commissioners approve new fee schedule for county fire marshal; implementation plan to follow

The Liberty County Commissioners on Tuesday approved a new fee schedule for the county fire marshal’s office to collect charges for plan reviews and inspections.

The marshal said the county previously did not collect fees for plan reviews, fire alarms, sprinkler systems, foster home inspections and similar services. He proposed a schedule aligned with surrounding jurisdictions, saying contractors were surprised the county had no fee. The schedule includes review fees, inspection fees, and fees for repeated inspections when systems do not pass initial checks.

County staff told the court that the county permit office’s software can accept the fees and that consolidated payment processing would be handled through that office. Commissioners stressed implementation details: the court directed the marshal and permit office to post the fees publicly (for example, on the county notice kiosk and the permit webpage), and to return with an implementation plan that documents how the fees will be collected, whether additional staffing is needed, and a go‑live date.

The motion to approve the fee schedule passed with one recorded dissent noted in the transcript (one “nay” while others voted “aye”). The court said it expects the marshal and permit staff to report back before the next agenda cycle with a proposed live date and any resource implications for the permit office.

Why it matters: Establishing a fee schedule means the county will begin offsetting the costs of plan review and inspections and potentially reduce repeated work by incentivizing better compliance at first inspection. Commissioners emphasized transparency and a phased implementation to avoid overloading the already busy permit office.