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Home growth prompts fee increase
By WILL VAN SANT BROOKSVILLE -- Escalating home construction and a new, more comprehensive state building code are straining the resources of the Hernando County Development Department. More personnel are desperately needed, department director Grant Tolbert says, and the best way to fund more salaries is to charge builders more for legally mandated county inspection services. Local builders oppose the proposed fee increases, calling them excessive, but even they acknowledge the department needs workers. "Nobody is denying that Grant needs some more staff, he does," said Bob Eaton, chairman for government affairs at the Hernando Builders Association. "The staff is pushed to the limit," Tolbert said. "And what happens when you are pushed to the limit is you start making slips; making mistakes." In the 1999 fiscal year, the department issued 1,178 building permits for single family residences. By fiscal year 2002, that figure had increased by more than 50 percent to 1,771 permits. Before a new state building code took effect in March, each of those permits required 14 to 15 separate inspections, Tolbert said. Under the new code, roughly 20 to 22 inspections are needed, he said. The new code requires that inspectors tend to a host of features they previously ignored, such as window installations and wind resistance and hurricane survival strength of siding and shutters. The old code focused more on structural integrity. Inspectors "are going out the door with more than they can handle each day," said Roger Sanders, the department's supervisor of inspections. "It's a lot of stress for them." At an Oct. 29 County Commission meeting, Tolbert proposed fee increases for builders that could bring in $300,000 to $350,000 a year and pay for the five to 10 more employees needed. On a 2,913-square-foot home with a market value of $131,085, current fees cost builders $685.31. The increase Tolbert proposed would put the cost at $869.74, an increase of about 27 percent. The increase, which on the home in question represents 0.14 percent of its value, would be greater for larger homes, less for smaller homes. After hearing from Eaton, commissioners directed Tolbert to consider whether half the fee increase he sought was feasible and tabled a vote until Dec. 3. Though the increases represent a small amount of a home's overall cost, they still would be too great, Eaton said, and much more burdensome than the 10 percent Tolbert initially suggested to his organization. "We are business people and it's a known fact that why the building industry is doing so well in Hernando County . . . is because we are watching every dollar," Eaton said. "Part of being successful is watching the cost." Eaton agrees the new building code justifies the department hire some workers. But their salaries should be paid through the department's reserve fund and a modest 10 percent increase in builder's fees, he said. County budget director George Zoettlein, whose budget stems entirely from collected fees, came into the current fiscal year with a reserve of $1.4-million. It is projected that the reserve will dwindle to $413,000 by the end of the year, Zoettlein said. Builders association auditors examining the finances of Tolbert's department determined that his reserves should not exceed one-thirteenth of his budget, or roughly the $1.4-million he brought into the current fiscal year, Tolbert said. Dipping into that quickly evaporating pool of money is not prudent, Tolbert said. "I don't need to be building a reserve at this point, but I certainly don't need to be operating the department out of it," he said. "You don't spend your savings account to run your business." Tolbert said he is examining the County Commission's proposal of giving him half the fee increase he seeks and thinks the idea is workable, but it will not allow him to get all the inspectors needed in the field. Overworked inspectors are told repeatedly that safety and quality come first, Tolbert said. "But we are all human," he added. "And when you are human, you sometimes try to do more than you should do." -- Will Van Sant covers Hernando County government and can be reached at 754-6127. Send e-mail to vansant@sptimes.com .
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From today's Hernando Times Editorial Letters |
