AGENDA #9
March 1, 2002
Inspections Department
2002-2003
The primary mission of the Inspections Department is to safeguard life, health, property and public welfare by inspecting building, structures and sites for compliance with local and state laws regulating the construction, quality of materials, the use and occupancy.
· 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 and the Development 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.
· Investigate and remedy zoning violations
|
REVENUE SOURCE |
Actual 2000-2001 Revenues |
2001-2002 Budgeted Revenues |
Estimated 2001-2002 Revenues |
Estimated Revenues For 2002-2003 |
% Increase (Decrease) from Original Budget |
|
Inspection Permits |
625,857 |
600,000 |
600,000 |
600,000 |
0 |
|
Re-inspection Permits |
76,767 |
75,000 |
75,000 |
75,000 |
0 |
|
Total |
702,614 |
675,000 |
675,000 |
675,000 |
0 |
· Additional revenue was generated fiscal year 2000-2001 because of an increase in the number of building permits issued and re-inspection fees.
· Due to the continued building of Meadowmont, the addition of other new projects and the build-out of existing subdivisions, we anticipate permit revenues to remain level over the next year.
· Re-inspection fee revenue should remain unchanged.
Department Base Budget Cost Estimates
|
CATEGORY |
2001-2002 Original Budget |
2001-2002 Revised Budget |
2001-2002 Estimated |
2002-2003 Requested |
% Increase (Decrease) from Original Budget |
|
Personnel |
542,634 |
544,634 |
523,011 |
546,510 |
+.07% |
|
Operations |
67,550 |
68,288 |
68,602 |
67,550 |
- |
|
Capital Equipment |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
|
TOTAL |
610,184 |
612,922 |
591,613 |
614,060 |
+.07% |
Key Services Going Well:
· Permits are being processed in an orderly and timely manner
· We are able to maintain high quality in inspections
· We have been able and plan to continue to offer training seminars to the public
· Increased Enforcement of Zoning Violations
· Increased Enforcement of Dilapidated Vehicle Ordinance
· Increased Enforcement of Minimum Housing Code
Key Services That Could Be Improved:
· Increased training for Inspections Department personnel regarding code enforcement and the new North Carolina Building Code.
· Purchase of a new permitting software program to improved recordkeeping and service to the public.
Proposed Reductions:
Because of the extreme budget constraints this year, all Department Heads are preparing recommended reductions for consideration by the Manager.
Proposed Additions:
We recommend a 2002-2003 fiscal year budget increase of approximately $92,300 to add a Zoning Enforcement Officer, a part-time Administrative Clerk (20 hours per week), and a temporary Administrative Clerk (twenty hours per week). A Zoning Enforcement Officer would inspect rental property on a complaint basis to insure compliance with the Town minimum housing code and zoning ordinance, notify owners of corrective actions necessary to comply, issue violation notices and take other measures necessary to ensure compliance. The person in this position would also work with neighborhood organizations and property managers to improve communication with the Town and understanding of relevant codes.
Training
Building Code and Zoning Enforcement personnel come to their profession from many backgrounds. Some are from the construction trades and some from planning. This diversity is healthy, but it demands that our Department provide continuing education.
Training is a continuing process, we will continue to be diligent in this task by requesting a 2% increase in the department training budget. Based on the fiscal year budget 2001-2002 operating and capital of $67,550.00 this equates approximately a $1,400.00 increase. The additional resources will be used by staff to attend code seminars on the 2002 Edition of the North Carolina Codes for Building, Electrical, Fire Prevention, Plumbing, Mechanical, Gas, Residential, and Energy codes.
Purchase of a new permitting software program
Due to growth in recent years in Chapel Hill’s construction industry and a pressing need to automate more of our permit process and move from a paper-and–file system to the PC based system that would empower our staff too efficiently and effectively, track the permit process and manage permit workflow. The Inspections Department is requesting to purchase City View Building Xpress.
Some of the benefits of purchasing City View Building Xpress is its ability in the future to expand to allow web based services such the scheduling of inspections via the internet and could be expanded to allow real-time inspection update to be posted on the Town’s web site.
We are proposing that the Inspections Department’s budget be increase by $5,000.00 to purchase and provide training and technical support for City View Building Xpress. The following is an itemization of the cost associated with the purchase of the program.
Budget
Purchase of City View program $2,995.00
Technical Support $1,000.00
Training $1,000.00
Total $4,995.00