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Richmond council adopts fee language to formalize fire inspection collections, adds $10 admin charge
Summary
The council approved amendments to Chapter 3.06 to let the town collect state-required fire inspection fees through its online portal and track them in a dedicated account; staff said the underlying inspection fees remain set by state law and local fire districts, and the town’s addition is a $10 administrative charge to cover portal costs.
Richmond’s Town Council voted Nov. 4 to amend Chapter 3.06 of the Richmond Code of Ordinances to codify collection of building- and fire‑inspection fees through the town’s online portal and to add a modest administrative charge.
The ordinance change follows a state mandate requiring inspection-fee transactions to occur on an online platform. Interim town staff explained the town now hosts the portal and cuts the reimbursement checks to local fire districts. "We’ve been collecting fire inspection fees through our open government portal," staff said, and the amendment creates a dedicated account so the town can track and recover its administration costs. Staff said the $10 administrative fee is intended to cover the town’s processing costs — not to supplant the fire district’s fee structure, which remains governed by Rhode Island law.
During the public hearing, resident Alex McKendall asked whether a previously $30 inspection would become $105 under the change; staff clarified that the $75 fee applies to new construction inspections, $30 applies to certain re‑inspections or sale‑related checks, and the town’s $10 charge is the only new money the town would add to the transaction. "That is a new administrative fee," staff said, adding that the inspection fees themselves were not newly created by the town.
Councilors closed the public hearing and adopted the amendments by roll call. The council recorded the vote and passed the ordinance as presented. The town plans to remit collected inspection fees to the relevant fire districts and to maintain the new account to show how town expenses are covered.
