Amending Various Sections of Chapter 6 Addressing Minimum Permit Fees and Service Charges of the Building Department

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ORDINANCE NO. La 3%L\ AN ORDINANCE OF THE COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SOUTH BEND, INDIANA, AMENDING VARIOUS SECTIONS OF CHAPTER 6,ARTICLES 1,2,4, 6,7 and 11 OF THE SOUTH BEND MUNICIPAL CODE ADDRESSING MINIMUM PERMIT FEES AND SERVICE CHARGES OF THE BUILDING DEPARTMENT STATEMENT OF PURPOSE AND INTENT On December 31, 1991, the City of South Bend, Indiana, and the County of St.Joseph entered into an agreement to merge their building departments; and further created the "Consolidated Building Board." In 1993,by Ordinance No. 8412-93, Subsection 1, the South Bend Common Council created the Building Department as an Enterprise Fund. The South Bend Municipal Code at Chapter 6,Article 1, Section 6-4(0 requires periodic review of the permit fees charged by the Building Department and also prescribes that the Building Commissioner report to the Common Council to assure that the fees collected are adequate to operate the Department. A recent review has disclosed that the Building Department suffered a loss in 2014 of approximately $31,450.00, for all permits issued with a minimum fee. Therefore,it is determined that a minimum fee adjustment is warranted to avoid future losses in this permit category. The adjustments set forth in this ordinance are identical to those proposed to be adopted by the St. Joseph County Council for application outside the City of South Bend. The increase for each affected minimum fee is not more than Ten dollars ($10.00). To further enable the Building Department to operate on fee revenue,it is necessary to raise the various contractor registration fees from one hundred dollars ($100.00) to one hundred twenty- five dollars ($125.00). Adjustment of the fees as provided in this ordinance is in the best fiscal interest of the City of South Bend. NOW,THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED by the Common Council of the City of South Bend, Indiana, as follows: Section I. Chapter 6,Article 1, Section 6-4(b) of the South Bend Municipal Code shall be amended to read as follows: (b) Unless othenvise provided in the Building Code,the fees to be charged for the issuance of permits by the Department shall be paid at the time the permit is issued. (1) The fee for permits issued for residential and commercial new construction and building additions shall be based upon the following: