Okaloosa County BOCC — July 14, 2014 — 1-1 Inspections — reading text

BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OKALOOSA COUNTY, FLORIDA SERVICE AREA: PUBLIC SAFETY DEPARTMENT/PROGRAM: GROWTH MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT/INSPECTIONS DIVISION PROGRAM DESCRIPTION: The Inspections Division of the Growth Management Department enforces the Florida Building Codes (Mechanical, Plumbing, Fuel/Gas, Residential, and Building) and the Fire- Life/Safety codes as mandated by Florida law. The Inspections Division also administers the County’s contractor licensing program as provided in Chapter 489, Florida Statutes, which protects public health and safety by ensuring that all contractors working in our jurisdiction are properly licensed. The Inspections Division receives and reviews permit applications, conducts on-site inspections for compliance with the requisite codes, and provides annual fire safety inspections for existing regulated structures. The Inspections Division provides building permit review services throughout unincorporated Okaloosa County as well as the City of Mary Esther, Town of Shalimar and City of Laurel Hill. The Division also provides Fire/Life Safety reviews for all the independent fire districts north of Eglin Air Force Base. The Inspections Division’s enforcement of the Building and Fire/Life Safety codes has earned Okaloosa County an Insurance Services Office (ISO) rating of 4 which enables Okaloosa County’s homeowners to receive favorable homeowners’ insurance rates. REVENUE: Pursuant to Section 553.80, Florida Statutes, the Inspections Division operates as an enterprise fund, using building permit application fees as its primary source of revenue. EXPENDITURES: Expenditures Budget FY12 FY13 FY14 FY15 Category Actual $ Actual $ Original $ Approved $ Personal Services 1,043,492 1,038,466 1,060,707 1,086,099 Operating Expenses 556,736 548,410 400,108 405,167 Capital Outlay 0 0 0 26,000 Other 0 0 0 98,650 Total 1,600,228 1,586,876 1,460,815 1,615,916 HISTORICAL STAFFING SUMMARY: Category FY12 FY13 FY14 FY15 Full-time 12 12 12 12 Part-Time 0 0 0 0 Relief 0 0 0 0 Total 12 12 12 12 MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENTS LAST YEAR:  Co-sponsored with BIA training session to enable contractors and Inspections staff to receive continuing education credits  Upgraded permitting software (with IS)  Improved General Liability Insurance Certificates requirements. PROGRAM GOAL: Inspections Division’s is responsible to protect the public health and safety by ensuring that all regulated construction activities meet or exceed the requirements of the Building and Fire/Life Safety codes while providing customer-friendly service to the development industry by ensuring that building permit reviews and inspections are carried out in a timely, uniform manner and operate independently of the County General Fund. KEY OBJECTIVES: 1. Maintain staffing sufficient to meet the following levels of service: a. Inspections performed the next business day for any inspection requested by midnight of the preceding day. b. Provide twice-per-week (Tuesdays and Thursdays) walk-through review of single-family residences, renovations, additions, pools, and accessory structures. c. Provide plans review for single family home in 5 working days, commercial plans in 10 working days. d. Maintain ability to respond in times of natural disaster. e. Maintain an ISO rating of 4 or better 2. Maintain revenues and reduce costs where possible to enable the Division to function without subsidy. 3. Implement credit-card permit payment 4. Replace fax permitting with on-line permitting for permits current issued by fax PERFORMANCE MEASURES: Actual Estimated Adopted Performance Measures FY13 FY14 FY15 FTEs 12 12 12 Input Office Locations 2 2 2 Number of building permits issued 7,554 7,325 7,350 Number of Building Plans Examinations 1,360 1,242 1,250 Number of fax permits issued (this is a subset of the total number 2,564 2,543 2,500 of permits) Number of licenses issued1 Output 605 549 500 Number of trade board meetings 21 18 20 Number of Public Records Requests 512 702 750 Number of Fire Plans Reviews 70 54 60 Number of Fire Inspections 1,801 1,405 1,600 Inspections per Inspector per day 18 17 17 Efficiency Plans Examinations per examiner/day 6 6 6 Number of permits issued per tech per day 8 8 8 Effectiveness Insurance Services Organization (ISO) Rating of Building Code Enforcement (ISO is a company hired by insurance companies to rate the 4 4 4 effectiveness regulatory agencies. The ISO uses a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being worst and 1 being best.) 1 Okaloosa County allows contractors to renew licenses in two year increments, so year-to-year variations do not necessarily indicate a declining contractor base.