NORWICH – The city is getting closer to working out a plan for building and fire inspection fees.
At Tuesday night’s meeting of the Finance and Personnel Committee, Police and Fire Chief Joseph Angelino said had been working with Code Enforcement Officer Jason Lawrence to develop what he hoped was “a fair and equitable plan” to implement a fees structure that has been discussed since February because of the large number of annual inspections.
The number of inspections has increased since the city adopted the state’s municipal building code. After looking at how surrounding municipalities are handling the situation, Angelino told the committee: “We’re about the only community that doesn’t (charge for inspections).”
While the committee has agreed that charging some type of fee is a good idea, the details of the plan are still being decided. Angelino said he and Lawrence do not want to charge by the hour. They are considering charging based on the square footage of a building, but they want to ensure the measures are affordable for business owners.
In addition, Angelino explained that because many buildings in the city have multiple purposes, it is difficult to determine how to handle such structures. One building could house a commercial business, a multi-family dwelling and a residence in the same area, he said. How to deal with those cases is what Angelino and Lawrence are currently working on.
“It’s a good program to get involved with, but I’d like to be careful about how we go about it,” said Fourth Ward Alderman Walter Schermerhorn.
Angelino agreed, explaining that since the City Codes Department needed additional help to cover all of the building inspections, the city needed to find a way to cover their costs.
“When you see the fee schedule, I think it’s going to be very fair and equitable,” Mayor Joseph Maiurano told the committee.
Angelino and Lawrence presented their progress at the March Public Works and Public Safety Committee meeting.