CR 92-224 Fees For Fire Inspection
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November 11, 1992
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Fees for Fire Inspections
CR Report 92-224
Prooosed Action
staff recommends approval of the following motion: Move to acceot the
first readinq of Ordinance No 92-719 which authorizes charqinq fees
for fire insoections.
Overview
Through analysis, the City has recognized fire inspections as an area
where service is provided without fees. The city can recover part of
the cost incurred by charging for this service. Last March the city
Council asked staff to work on implementing a fee schedule relating to
fire inspections.
The Hopkins Business Council was approached with this idea last spring
and voted to support the concept. staff anticipates undertaking
additional public input measures prior to the second reading.
As an incentive to correct code violations quickly this ordinance
adjusts the rate depending upon the inspection results. If there are
no violations found during the initial inspection or corrections are
made prior to the end of the first re-inspection, the business would
pay 50% of the normal hourly rate. A business complying by the end of
the second re-inspection would pay the normal hourly rate. A business
not complying by the end of the second re-inspection would pay a fee
of 150% of the normal hourly rate.
Our current Ordinance does not allow fees to be charged for the first
or second visit. Additional visits are currently charged at a flat
rate. The rate that has been set by Council Resolution is $30.00 per
hour with a one hour minimum per visit.
primary Issues to Consider
o Should businesses be responsible for the cost incurred doing fire
inspections of their premises?
o Is the additional cost this poses for a business operating in
Hopkins reasonable?
o Should the business who abuses the fire inspection process be
penalized financially with the proposed sliding scale?
o What additional public input measures does Staff propose?
Suoportinq Information
o March 5, 1992 Staff memo to city Council
o Ordinance No.92-719
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CR Report 92-224
Page 2
Primary Issues to Consider.
o Should Business be responsible for the cost incurred doing fire
inspections of their premises?
The benefactors of fire inspections include public visiting the
business, owners, employees, and the city. People shopping and working
in Hopkins expect to be safe. The hazards created are a direct result
of business owners and managers activities. It seems appropriate for
the business to pay for the inspections.
o Is the additional cost this poses for a business operating in
Hopkins reasonable?
A small business that requires two visits by a Fire Inspector would be
billed a total of $30.00. Unless they have some special hazards, it is
likely they will not receive another Fire Inspection for three years.
This breaks down to $10.00 per year. This does not seem excessive.
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o Should the business who abuses the fire inspection process be
penalized financially with the proposed sliding scale?
Yes. There are many cases where the business owner doesn't feel it's
necessary to be ready for the Fire Inspector on time. After all, the
violation has been there for months. What1s a few more weeks? We don't
want to legally prosecute violators when we know they are going to fix
the hazard. The problem is Fire Inspectors spend a good portion of
their time going back again and again waiting for the violator to
repair the hazard. The sliding scale will cause violators to be
prompt, making the Fire Inspectors time more productive.
o What additional public input measures does Staff propose?
Due to the time which has elapsed since the Business Councils last
reVlew staff proposes to undertake the following measures:
Discussion at November 19th Business council Meeting
Article in Twinwest Newsletter
Article in H.C.P. Newsletter
Article in Hopkins sailor
Alternatives.
o Approve Staffs recommendation
o Do not approve Staffs recommendation
tit 0 Continue matter for more information
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MEMORANDUllI
CITY OF HOPKINS
Date: March 5, 1992
To: Mayor and City Council
From: George Magdal, Fire Marshal
Subject: Fire Inspection Fees
PURPOSE OF DISCUSSION
The purpose of this memo is review the City's fire inspection program
and discuss the concept of establishing a fee schedule for fire
inspections. Through analysis, the City has recognized fire
inspections as one area where a service is provided without fees. It
is possible for the City to recover a portion or all of the costs
incurred by charging a fee for this service.
The city council is being requested to provide direction on whether
staff should continue to develop a fee schedule pertaining to fire
inspections. No other formal action is being requested.
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BACKGROUND
There was some concern for the safety of Hopkins buildings and
occupants by the city Council when the certificate of occupancy
program was eliminated in 1990. At that time the Council asked that
the fire inspection program pick up its efforts to maintain a
reasonable degree of safety in these buildings. This effort is
continuing.
The goal of the city's fire inspection program is to maintain or
improve the safety of commercial, industrial and apartment buildings
while maintaining the communities tax base.
The benefits of these fire inspections are considerable. By reducing
the frequency and consequence of potential fires, the city protects:
o The public visiting the businesses
o The business owner and his employees
o The firefighters who would be responding to the incident
o The city's tax base.
Hopkins currently spends approximately 16 hours a week doing fire
inspections. This costs the city approximately $17,000 per year. At
the current level of staffing we are capable of inspecting every
commercial building in Hopkins about once every 5 years. Some
businesses that contain hazardous chemicals for instance require more
frequent visits. other businesses are seen less frequently because of
the minimum hazard.
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Municipalities are not required to do fire inspections. Among our
neighbors, Edina and st. Louis Park have chosen not to do inspections
whereas Minnetonka and Eden prairie each have a maintenance fire
inspection program.
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FEE SCHEDULE
The city can legally charge for fire inspections. The following
program is being proposed in order to provide for a partially or
totally self sufficient fire inspection program:
o Inspections would be conducted in all commercial businesses,
industrial buildings and apartment complexes. Occupancies that
have a history of problems or extreme hazards would be inspected
more often than others. Smaller business can be inspected in less
than one hour per visit. A larger company or one with hazards may
take many hours of inspection and research time.
o The City would charge an hourly rate for the inspectors time.
o There would be a minimum charge of one hour per visit.
o A fire inspection fee of $30 per hour would be charged. This is
the amount currently used by the city for repeat fire
inspections.
As an incentive to correct code violations quickly it is proposed
that the city adjust the $30 rate based on the circumstances of the
situation. An example of this is as follows:
o If there are no violations found or corrections are made prior to
the second visit, the business would pay 1/2 the normal hourly
rate.
o A violator complying by the third visit would pay the normal
hourly rate.
D A violator not complying after the third visit would pay a fee of
1 1/2 times the normal hourly rate.
The following are some scenarios using the proposed fee schedule.
o A small business has no violations or complies while the fire
inspector is on site, 1 hr. @ $15/hr.=$15
o A small business complies at the time of the second visit, 2 hrs.
@ $15.00/hr.=$30
o A small business complies after 3 visits, 3 hrs. at $30/hr.=$90
o A small business complies after 4 visits, 4 hrs. @ $45/hr. = $180
DISADVANTAGES OF THIS PROPOSAL
One disadvantage of this program is that it poses an additional cost
for a business operating in Hopkins.
This program also requires some type of billing procedure be
developed. This is a disadvantage since it will require staff time to
process the bills.
Another disadvantage is that it is not an exact budget. The sliding
scale makes it difficult to determine the revenue that would be
generated. It's also likely that some people will not pay their bill.
This could be rectified by structuring the program to allow the city
to certify delinquent bills as a special assessment against the
property.
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The worst case scenario would be that all the businesses in Hopkins
complied with violations on the first or second visit allowing us to
bill only 50% of the fee. As odd as this sounds, that is actually the
goal of the program.
WHAT ARE OTHER CITIES DOING?
I have not found another city that is charging directly for fire
inspections. Many cities work on a permit system where they charge a
fee for selected businesses that are required to have permits.
There has been, however, a fair amount of interest from other cities
regarding this issue. The League of Minnesota cities recently did a
telephone survey regarding fire inspection fees. A copy of those
survey results are attached.
The City of st. Paul has a certificate of Occupancy program. Fees
charged cover approximately 40% of their cost of doing the fire
inspections. Their fee, based on the building size, charges the owner
of the building. We are proposing charging the business itself.
Usually it's the business that violates the fire code. There are some
cases, however, where the owner also would receive orders to correct
violations and would pay the fee.
The City of Blaine is looking at the possibility of charging a fee
for fire inspections. They are proposing $50 for the first three
visits and $50 more for each additional visit. They do not take into
account the size of the business.
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Roseville is looking at a 15% surcharge on building permits to partly
fund their Fire Inspections Program, including an additional fire
inspector. Their Chamber of Commerce felt that a $50 charge per
business was unfair since the inspection time varied per business. I
don't see how charging new construction is fair since they are not
the ones receiving the greatest benefit from the fire inspections.
In the state of New Jersey, every business is required to have a fire
inspection on an annual basis. The fees charged to the businesses for
these inspections go to the state. The state then provides the fire
inspection personnel. Cities may receive a portion of the inspection
fee if they agree to provide the inspection service.
RECOMMENDATIONS
It is recommended the city council direct staff to continue to
develop the fire inspection fee program as proposed and return at a
later date with an ordnance allowing for the implementation of this
program.
It is further suggested that staff solicit input from the Business
Council and other business groups on the implementation of such a
program.
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Options available to the city Council include:
1. Discontinue efforts pertaining to establishing a fee schedule
relating to fire inspections.
2. Discontinue the maintenance fire inspection program.
3. continue work on implementing a fee schedule relating to fire
inspections.
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HENNEPIN COUNTY, MINNESOTA
ORDINANCE NO. 92-719
FEE FOR FIRE INSPECTIONS
BE IT ORDAINED By the Council of the city of Hopkins that section
905.13 of the Hopkins City Code be deleted in its entirety and
replaced with the following:
905.13 Fee for Fire Inspections. A fee shall be charged for fire
inspections. This fee will not apply to complaints on specific
hazards. Such fee shall be collected from either the owner or the
occupant who gets the inspection. The fee shall be in an amount
established by Council Resolution. If there are no violations
found or the violations are corrected by the end of the first
re-inspection the fee shall be 50% of the established rate. If
the violations are corrected by the end of the second
re-inspection the fee shall be 100% of the established rate. If
the violations are not corrected by the end of the second
re-inspection the fee shall be 150% of the established rate.
First Reading:
November 10th, 1992
Second Reading:
November 17th, 1992
Date of Publication:
November 25th, 1992
Date Ordinance Takes Effect: January
1st, 1993
Mayor
City Clerk
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HENNEPIN COUNTY, MINNESOTA
ORDINANCE NO. 92-719
FEE FOR FIRE INSPECTIONS
BE IT ORDAINED By the Council of the city of Hopkins that section
905.13 of the Hopkins City Code be deleted in its entirety and
replaced with the following:
905.13 Fee for Fire Inspections. A fee shall be charged for fire
inspections. This fee will not apply to complaints on specific
hazards. Such fee shall be collected from either the owner or the
occupant who gets the inspection. The fee shall be in an amount
established by Council Resolution. If there are no violations
found or the violations are corrected by the end of the first
re-inspection the fee shall be 50% of the established rate. If
the violations are corrected by the end of the second
re-inspection the fee shall be 100% of the established rate. If
the violations are not corrected by the end of the second
re-inspection the fee shall be 150% of the established rate.
First Reading:
November 10th, 1992
Second Reading:
December 8th, 1992
Date of Publication:
December 16th, 1992
Date Ordinance Takes Effect: January
5th, 1993
Mayor
City Clerk