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Commission Memorandum
REPORT TO: Honorable Mayor and City Commission
FROM: Bob Risk, Chief Building Official
Jason Shrauger, Fire Chief
Chuck Winn, Assistant City Manager
SUBJECT: Building Inspection 1st Quarter FY10 Update
July 1 – September 30, 2009
MEETING DATE: October 19 2009
AGENDA ITEM TYPE: Consent
RECOMMENDATION: Accept this report detailing the financial and workload position of
the Building Inspection Division for the quarter ending September 30, 2009.
DISCUSSION: Because of the difficulties estimating Building Inspection revenues and
workloads, we committed to make quarterly reports regarding staffing levels and operating costs
in the department.
The FY10 Budget was balanced with the following assumptions:
A. REVENUES/EXPENDITURES: Without an increase in current fees, we estimated receiving
approximately $71,200/month. This estimate was based on average monthly building permit
activity during FY2009 and equals our estimated monthly expenditures for FY10.
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Our FY09 average monthly revenue was $73,000 with actual monthly averages ranging
between $108,000 and $28,000. We believe that the FY09 history is a conservative estimate
of what we may expect for the upcoming fiscal year.
Our estimated monthly expenditures for FY10 are $71,125 which is 16% less than our 2009
monthly average. Our actual monthly expenditures for the 1st quarter of FY10 averaged
$65,400.
Actual Expenditures 1st QTR FY10
July 2009 $73,800
August 2009 $65,800
September 2009 $56,500
Average Monthly Expenditures: $65,400
How much revenue we collect is a function of the number of permits sold and the type of
project being constructed. For the first quarter of FY10, actual revenues collected averaged
$67,200/month.
Actual Revenues 1st QTR FY10
July 2009 $87,500
August 2009 $59,300
September 2009 $54,900
Average Monthly Revenues: $67,200
B. CASH RESERVE: The Building Inspection Fund Cash Reserve was $625,810 at the
beginning of FY10. At the end of the First Quarter FY10, the cash reserve balance was
$634,586 (74% of our recommended FY10 Budget) which is up $8,776 or 1.4% from the
cash reserve balance at the beginning of the first quarter.
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C. BUILDING PERMIT NUMBERS: The total number of new permits for the first quarter
FY10 was consistent with the permit levels for the fourth quarter of FY09 and increased 17%
over the total average permit level for FY09 which was 820 permits.
Permit Type 1Qtr FY10 1Qtr FY09 2Qtr FY09 3Qtr FY09 4 Qtr FY09
Building 450 358 298 184 419
Plan Check 183 205 141 101 183
Electrical 157 181 141 99 125
Plumb/Mech 175 259 148 146 158
Fire Systems 20 19 21 17 17
Moving 0 2 0 0 1
Demolition 4 8 3 7 10
Total Permits 959 1033 752 582 913
D. “Inspections per Inspector Day” has historically been used to measure the workload of
building inspectors. The accepted level of inspections per inspector day is 15.
E. During the first quarter of FY10 our monthly inspection averages are up over last year’s
averages but we expect that the monthly averages will fall during the winter months and pick
up again in the spring.
Fiscal Year 2010 - 1st QTR
Inspections/Inspector Day
Standard 15
July 17.67
August
September
16.21
23.10
1st QTR average inspections per day 18.75
STAFFING PLAN: With our current and projected workload, the Building Division is
currently at the minimum staffing level needed to provide the minimum services mandated by
the Administrative Code of Montana, City of Bozeman Ordinances, the International Building
Code and Current Building Division Policies.
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Currently, the building division staffing level includes: ½ Fire Chief, ½ Deputy Chief
Inspections, 1 Chief Building Official, 2 Plans Examiners, 3 Building Inspectors, 1 Code
Compliance Officer, and 1 Permit Coordinator.
FISCAL EFFECTS: During the 2010 Fiscal year, the building division staff is committed to
continue working hard in order to streamline our operations and conserve funds. So far, at the
end of the first quarter FY10, we are approximately 3% below our already conservative projected
expenditures for the quarter.
Our FY10 estimated monthly expenditures for the department stands at $71,125/month.
Our revenues for the 1st Quarter FY10 averaged $67,200/month while our average monthly
expenditure levels for the quarter were at $65,400/month.
The Building Division Reserve Fund balance at the end of the 1st Quarter was $634,600 which
represents 74% of the Recommended FY10 budget.
ALTERNATIVES: As suggested by the City Commission.
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