Grantsville council adopts temporary hourly system for commercial building permits while staff collects inspection‑hour data

At its Oct. 22 meeting the Grantsville City Council adopted Resolution 2025‑77 to amend the city’s consolidated fee schedule for building permits. The measure moves commercial and industrial permits to an hourly, time‑and‑materials approach while staff collects inspection and plan‑review time data necessary for a comprehensive fee study.

Staff reported that the current valuation‑based fees produced disproportionately high fees for very large commercial projects and that shifting to hourly billing (with an incremental $12.45 overhead component in the proposed rates) will better align fees with actual staff time and overhead. Staff said the city will track hours in its IWERKS system to generate the baseline data needed to recommend tiered valuation rates in a later study.

Council members asked whether applicants would receive time estimates; staff said estimates could be provided but cautioned they would be rough until more data are collected. Several councilmembers noted that high‑valuation commercial projects have historically subsidized residential permit fees and that the building department maintains a reserve to smooth transitions.

A motion to approve Resolution 2025‑77 was made, seconded, and carried by voice vote.

What’s next: Staff will implement the hourly rate approach and begin tracking inspection and plan‑review hours; the city intends to use that data to prepare a full fee study and potential tiered rates tied to valuation.