Wixom City Council approves three‑year extension with Safe Built for building services

Wixom City Council voted to approve a three‑year extension of a professional services agreement with Safe Built Michigan LLC to provide building department services through Dec. 31, 2028, and authorized the mayor to sign the agreement.

Assistant City Manager Benson told the council that the contractor’s compensation structure is largely fee‑for‑service, with Safe Built reimbursed about 63.5% of permit fees under the current arrangement. Benson said average annual payments to Safe Built have been roughly $530,000, with historical lows near $290,000 and highs near $673,000, depending on volume.

Council members focused much of their discussion on a recently added non‑solicitation clause. Council member Behrman asked why the clause was being introduced now after a long contracting relationship and expressed discomfort with a provision that could require the city to pay 50% of an employee’s annual salary if the city hired a Safe Built employee within one year of that employee leaving the contractor.

Kevin Pike, who identified himself as the city’s building official and said he works with Safe Built, defended the clause as a response to a scarcity of qualified inspectors. “We have problems with people leaving and people are hard to find. Just they’re hard to find quality people. And this is how we try—I believe this is added into our contract to try to mitigate that,” Pike said.

Benson said the clause had been negotiated down from a 100% placement fee provision in the original draft. He told councilors that staff could make minor clarifications to the clause after tonight’s approval, then provide a red‑lined version to the mayor.

Councilors also asked whether the city measures contractor performance. Benson said the city does not have routine performance metrics but could explore permit‑linked surveys or other feedback mechanisms.

With those assurances and a motion on the floor, council members voted by voice and the motion passed. The council authorized the mayor to sign the extended agreement; staff said they would return a final clean red‑line if any minor language changes were made after tonight’s vote.

The approval keeps Safe Built as Wixom’s provider of building officials, inspectors and related services under the existing fee structure, a model staff said avoids the city absorbing fixed staffing costs during slower periods.