City staff presented results of a competitive RFQ for outsourced building department services, summarizing three proposals: incumbent SafeBuilt, McKenna, and a Muskegon County offering. Chief points of contention were experience, customer service performance, and the financial terms of fee‑sharing for permit revenue.

Staff said SafeBuilt scored highest on municipal experience, responsiveness and quality‑control systems after a year‑long period intended to let the incumbent address service complaints. McKenna’s proposal included a tiered fee schedule the city called out as possibly containing a numeric error; McKenna’s representative clarified they would honor the lower fee tiers described in their submission, which would make McKenna materially more price‑competitive.

Commissioners pressed staff and both vendors on: how construction values would be aggregated (per parcel vs. PUD aggregation), whether large multi‑parcel projects (e.g., Shaw Walker) would be disadvantaged by per‑parcel aggregation, the mechanics of the revenue split tiers, and whether a shorter contract with strong performance metrics might mitigate transition risk. Commissioners noted that major ongoing projects already had permits or were in later phases, reducing immediate revenue exposure for the current phase.

Commissioner German moved to award the contract to SafeBuilt per staff recommendation. Roll call produced two Yes votes, one No and two abstentions; the motion did not carry. Commissioners directed staff to return comparable, dollarized revenue‑sharing scenarios and to discuss contract length and enforceable performance metrics at the Legislative Policy Committee meeting or before Dec. 9.

No contract was awarded; staff will prepare a fiscal comparison of the competing fee schedules, modeled on the previous year’s permit production, and include recommended performance metrics and contract terms for commissioners’ review.