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Commissioners discuss using third‑party plan review and inspection services for large developments
Summary
County staff and commissioners debated bringing in third‑party plan reviewers and inspectors to speed approvals and relieve staff workload for large commercial and industrial projects; no formal decision was recorded and staff will return with proposed fee structures and triggers for use.
Madison County commissioners spent part of their July 6 meeting discussing whether to use third‑party plan review and inspection firms for large commercial and industrial projects, a move staff and some commissioners said could speed turnaround and relieve a strained inspection staff.
A county staff member explained the service would focus on infrastructure reviews (water, sewer, paving, DOT driveway entrances and stormwater) and would not replace routine building inspections the county already handles. Staff said neighboring jurisdictions use posted fee structures and third‑party firms to improve turnaround times; one commissioner said he had seen third‑party inspectors produce next‑day site inspections and quoted an example where an inspector had nearly 200 inspections scheduled in a day for that firm.
Commissioners asked how the county would trigger third‑party review and how fees would be structured. Suggestions included basing the decision on project square footage, acreage, or complexity and creating a posted fee schedule to cover the third party's work. Commissioners also noted a recent Georgia law enabling third‑party inspectors and discussed limits: the county's inspector cannot sign off on work performed by an outside inspector without verification of the inspection.
No vote was taken. Commissioners asked staff to gather sample fee schedules and establish criteria for when outside review would be used, and to return with a proposed policy and implementation plan.
Next steps: staff will research vendor models, fee structures and recommended triggers for third‑party review; the board asked for a proposal for a future meeting.
