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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowIndianapolis might soon begin charging more money for construction permits and inspections while also hiking penalties for code and ordinance violations under a proposal that updates fees, including some that haven’t been changed since 1988.
Businesses and residents in Marion County pay such fees to the city’s Department of Business and Neighborhood Services, or DBNS, which handles licensing, permitting and inspections and oversees property use, safety and maintenance. A recent review found outdated costs didn’t cover the actual costs involved, according to the city.
Proposed changes to the fee structure could bring in $5 million more annually, city officials told reporters ahead of a budget introduction on Aug. 11. The changes are based on a review from Indianapolis-based accounting firm Baker Tilly conducted last year.
According to the city, the extra money should help the DBNS to avoid the need to tap property-tax or income-tax revenue to stabilize its budget.
Baker Tilly assessed how much the agency’s employees spent, for example, reviewing a certain type of permit. Along with that analysis, the firm looked at fees used by nearby cities including Carmel and Greenwood.
Proposal 239 contains fee changes for inspections and permitting and penalties for violations that are more on par with Indianapolis’ neighbors. The proposal requires a combination of both City-County Council and Board of Business and Neighborhood Services approvals.
“These are very thoughtful changes to not only cover our expenses, but to also align with our peers and remain competitive in the metro area,” Abbey Brands, director of the department, told a council committee on Monday.
“We’re not changing every fee and penalty, and I do believe these will ultimately net long-term improvements to service,” she added.
Under the proposal, Indianapolis would adopt new formulas for determining plan-review and structural fees for residential and commercial buildings.
Below are examples of how those would change:
2,500-square-foot new residential build
Plan review: $200, up from $148.
Structural fee: $850, increased from $286.
Those fees would total just more than $1,000. Brands said the department’s analysis shows that total is much lower than surrounding communities. In Carmel, the total cost of those fees would be more than $6,000, and in Fishers, it would be almost $5,000. In Greenwood, a smaller municipality, those fees are almost $2,000.
25,000-square-foot new commercial build
Plan review: previously included in structural fee; now proposed $200.
Structural fee: $4,600, increased from $1,726.
Brands said that a 2018 decision removed the plan-review fee for commercial buildings, but that it likely resulted in that cost being absorbed into the structural fee.
She said that separating the costs in the new proposal feels more transparent.
Violation penalties might increase
Brands told councilors on Monday that the current penalties for violations don’t reflect “levels of egregiousness” of each act. Instead, placing signage without a permit carries the same fine as skirting commitments made to city development officials.
Rather than maintain the flat $50 fee for first offenses, the proposal would increase some fees up to $325 and maintain lower tiers at $50 and $100.
Proposed violation fees for the first offense in a calendar year, originally at $50:
- Sign violation: $100
- Work without improvement location: $250
- Junk, trash or debris: $100
- Inoperable vehicle or vehicle parts: $100
- Commercial vehicle parking: $325
- Illegal display: $50, no change.
- Non-permitted use: $325
- Development standard: $100
- Petition violation: $325
The fine for illegal dumping of hazardous waste would also increase from $500 to $1,000 under the proposal.
Inspections changed for commercial structures
The city’s fees on building inspection were changed more recently, in 2010. The new proposal focuses on commercial structure inspections, rather than residential.
“I do not want to be the reason that someone has been waiting to get back in their house and they need to get in their house soon and they can’t,” Brands said Monday.
The proposal would also add two new fees. When inspectors have to return to a site for an inspection, the builder will pay $175. Brands said the fee may help decrease instances in which an inspection is scheduled, but the individual is unprepared or unavailable at the time of the inspection.
“If you know that we’re not going to come out for free anymore and you’re actually going to have to pay a fee, then I think maybe you’ll be available for your inspection,” Brands said.
Building inspections fee changes:
- New $175 reinspection fee.
- New $750 fee for a stop work order violation in a commercial project.
- New $250 fee for a stop work order violation in a residential project.
- Same-day inspection for a commercial structure: $750, up from $232.
- Next day inspection for a commercial structure: $300, up from $187.
- Next day inspection at a scheduled time for a commercial structure: $500, up from $245.
- Inspection for a weekday after 4:30 p.m. or weekend for a commercial structure: $750, increased from $348.
- Administrative fee: $250, up from $215.
- Costs for residential inspections would see no change under the proposal.
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The City uses private contractors to review and inspect commercial projects. Wouldn’t it make sense to open competitive bidding among theses entities to drive fees lower and save the Taxpayers money? After all, The Department of Development (Neighborhood Services) is here to establish standards and insure compliance as a service to the Citizens. Not to be a profit generator. Higher fees will certainly affect small businesses attempting to grow or improve their facilities.
A long over due efforts to bring some rules of civility to the very abused permitting section of our City code. And some teeth to help the scofflaws pay attention. Bravo.
Don, you may have it backward. Sometimes the permitting and inspection sections of BNS are abusers, not abused. Some of them are the very definition of petty bureaucrats with power who enforce their own mistaken definition of City Code.
Douglas’ comment below is but one example. If they did their jobs in an informed, timely, and efficient manner, then people wouldn’t get mad at them. It’s that simple.
We need to keep pushing for development in Marion County.
A simple wall sign permit takes 10-12 weeks, they need to have this down to 2-3 weeks. More money won’t help. Intelligents would be key.
Yes, Douglas… intelligence would be key…not intelligents.
Well needed. I’d even like to see violators be fined on a per week or per month basis until they come into compliance. Other cities charge higher penalties and on a per time of persistence basis.