In order to allow the Building & Safety Department to continue to offer timely services to the private sector, the Las Vegas City Council today approved modest building fee increases. Without the fee increases, the department would have to lay off additional workers, resulting in additional reduced service levels. The fees, which have not been raised since 1993, will still keep the city of Las Vegas below the fees charged by other local jurisdictions.

The Building & Safety Department has made major cuts in the last few years due to declining revenue. A total of 75 people in the department have been laid off over the last two years, which has resulted in delays in inspections and plans checks. This has greatly affected service levels, as the current staff of 42 is having trouble keeping up with demand. For example, while the department has aimed to perform inspections in one day, it has been taking up to three days for an inspection, costing developers time and money. Without the fee increases, the department would not be able to continue to perform its services in a timely fashion for the private sector. The department is an Enterprise Fund, meaning it is not supported by taxes in the General Fund and can only operate through the fees it collects for its services.

By raising fees, the department will be able to maintain service levels and not continue to have a detrimental impact on the private sector. It also puts the department in a position to be able to respond to increasing demand once the economy recovers.
               
The fee increases are gradual. There would be a 25 percent average increase effective within 60-90 days, with a 15 percent increase in 2012 and a 10 percent increase in 2013. For a typical home that has 2,000 square feet of living area, the fees would increase by $24. An existing 5,000 square-foot medical office building valued at $500,000 would see a fee decrease of $1,808. A standard new office building of 5,000 square feet would see a fee increase of $638.

Members of the local home building community indicated they were not opposed to the fee increases, including the Southern Nevada Home Builders Association and the Association of General Contractors. The groups reported that the need to have services delivered in a timely manner so they could finish their projects on time far outweighed the increase in fees presented to the City Council.                          

According to the city’s Human Resources Director Dan Tarwater, the salaries of the inspectors in the city’s Building & Safety Department are in line with the comparable salary ranges in Clark County, Henderson and North Las Vegas. The midpoint of the salary range for the city’s plans examiners is 1 percent higher than the three local agencies; for an electrical inspector the midpoint of the salary range is 5 percent lower than two of the agencies; and the midpoint for the salary range of an average combination inspector is 6 percent lower than the three local agencies.

Due to collective bargaining, the city cannot decrease existing salary levels unilaterally. The city continues to negotiate with the collective bargaining units in order to reduce the cost of labor.

The council approved today’s action on a 5-1 vote.