AGENDA #5

February 25, 2004

Inspections Department

Initial Budget Presentation to the Mayor and Town Council

2004-2005

I. Mission Statement

The Mission of the Inspections Department is to safeguard life, health, property and public welfare by inspecting buildings, structures and sites for compliance with local and state laws regulating and controlling the construction, quality of materials, the use and occupancy, location and maintenance within the jurisdiction of the Town of Chapel Hill.

II. Brief Services Description

The key services provided by this department are:

· The enforcement of the N. C. State Building Codes, Chapel Hill Code of Ordinances, Minimum Housing Code, Rental Licensing Program and the Land Use Management Ordinance.

· This Department is also responsible for resolving associated complaints, citizens’ requests for assistance, issuing sign permits, inspecting day care facilities, and inspecting business occupancies.

· The Inspections Department is responsible for the maintenance of an electronic data base record of all licensed rental units and violations which include all information obtained from the rental licensing applications.  The department is responsible for providing copies of the Rental Duties Information Sheet, information about the Town’s policies and ordinances relevant to trash collection, noise control, parking, and the Town’s Housing Code to property owners.

III. Departmental Revenue Estimates

REVENUE SOURCE	Actual 2002-2003 Revenues	2003-2004 Budgeted Revenues	Estimated 2003-2004 Revenues	Proposed Revenues For 2004-2005
Inspection Permits	$705,645	$535,000	$535,000	$474,500
Re-inspection Permits	$85,938	$80,000	$80,000	$80,000
Rental Licensing	$77,710	$75,000	$75,000	$75,000
TOTAL	$869,341	$690,000	$690,000	$629,500

Key Budget Issues

· The numbers of planned projects that may receive a Zoning Compliance Permit during FY 2004-2005 are down.  This is a possible reflection of the economy conditions of the previous 15 to 18 months since many of these projects were in the planning stages then.

IV. Departmental Base Budget Cost Estimates

CATEGORY	2003-2004 Original Budget	Requested 2004-2005 Budget
Personnel	$610,505	$638,814
Operations	$97,092	$99,175
Capital Equipment	$0	$0
TOTAL	$707,597	$737,989

Key Budget Issues

· Personnel increased 4.6% due to increases in cost for employee health insurance and workman’s compensation insurance.

· Operations increased 2.1 % to allow each Inspector a minimum of 40 hours of technical training in their field of expertise per year as required to lower the Insurance Services Office (ISO) rating.

V. Programs Going Well

· Processing permits in an orderly and timely manner

· Maintaining high quality inspections

· Continuing to offer training seminars to the public

· Maintaining efficient enforcement of all violations complaints

· Continuing to improve the Rental Licensing Program    

VI. Programs That Could Be Improved

The key challenge we will face in fiscal year 2004-2005 is related to lowering our Insurance Services Department (ISO) rating to a 3.  The Inspections Department currently has a Class 4 Building Code Effectiveness Grade for residential, commercial and industrial property.  In FY 2004-2005 the Department is scheduled to be evaluated by the Insurance Services Department to determine if our classification will improve or maintain its current position or regress.

The Building Code Effectiveness Grading Schedule (BCEGS) assesses the building codes in effect in a particular community and how the community enforces its building codes, with special emphasis on mitigation of losses from natural hazards.

The BCEGS program will assign each municipality a BCEGS grade of 1 (best) to 10 (no recognized protection). ISO will develop advisory rating credits that apply to ranges of BCEGS grades (1-3, 4-6, 7-9, 10).

Our base budget request for the Inspections Department proposes a level of staffing next year in the Inspections Department that is the same as our current situation.  The Insurance Services Department requires plan reviews to be performed with a detail check list.  Although we have a computer program in place that will generate the required plan review check list, we do not have adequate staff to implement the new system.

VII. Proposed Additions or Reductions

· A new position to administer residential and commercial plan reviews.  This position would oversee the department’s plan review process and would improve our ability to ensure that construction within the Town complies with building codes and the Land Use Management Ordinance. 

Salary	Benefits	Supplies	Computer	Vehicle Finance Charge	Vehicle Fuel and Maintenance	Total Cost
46,860	15,100	1,000	4,000	3,600	3,600	74,160