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Janesville amends building-permit fee schedule, renews inspector contract
Summary
The Janesville council approved amendments to the building-inspection fee schedule and renewed the inspection contract; the building inspector outlined increases in fixed fees and a modest change to permit valuations.
The Janesville City Council on Feb. 9 approved updates to the city’s building-inspection fee schedule and renewed the contract for building inspection services after a presentation by Dan Murphy, the city’s building inspector.
Murphy told the council that fixed fees for common items such as roofing, windows and furnaces are currently $55 and that the department is recommending raising those fixed fees to $75. He also described a roughly 5% increase across valuation-based permit fees to better match labor and materials costs. "We're looking at increasing fixed fees ... currently $55 ... looking at increasing that to $75," Murphy said in explaining the change.
Murphy introduced a new inspector hire, Red Byron, and noted the state building code is expected to be updated in fall 2026. He said the updates could increase plan-review time but that the current recommended fee changes are intended to keep service sustainable without major disruption to homeowners.
A councilor questioned inspection practices and recordkeeping after a resident said he had not seen inspectors at his house despite pulling permits. Murphy explained inspections are recorded in the city’s address files and that older paper records were migrated to an electronic system; residents can review inspection records at city offices.
The council moved to amend the fee schedule and to include the updated schedule in the renewed inspector contract; the motion carried and members were invited to sign the contract.
