FY 18 Annual Report

Building & Inspections CITY OF SPENCER, IOWA

2018

Departmental Highlights

This Department issues all building, plumbing and electrical permits, as well as oversees inspections of new construction within the City of Spencer. Other duties of this Department include coordinating nuisance abatement, checking for tall grass and low hanging trees and enforcement of the City's Zoning Code. The department assists with the meetings of the Planning & Zoning Commission, the Zoning Board of Adjustment, the Electrical Board and the Plumbing Board. In FY 18, these four boards met twenty-three times, as is shown below: Planning & Zoning 8 Board of Adjustment 13 Electrical Board 1 Plumbing Board 1 The Planning and Zoning Commission is a seven member body of citizens appointed by the Mayor and confirmed by the City Council, whose main task it to conduct thorough reviews of development proposals to ensure that the proposals are consistent wit the community's land use patterns and development standards. The Commissions is also responsible for the creation of the Land Use Plan, and offers recommendations on any changes tot eh City's zoning code and boundaries. The Zoning Board of Adjustment is a seven member body of citizens appointed by the Mayor and confirmed by the City Council. The Board is authorized by State Code to make special exceptions from the zoning ordinance, such as setback requirements. In addition, the Board holds a hearing for any property owner who does not agree with the action of the City in the interpretation of zoning codes. The Board is also responsible for reviewing and ruling on Permitted Conditional Use Permit Requests. The Electrical Board and Plumbing Board each meet as needed to review the applicable codes related to electrical and plumbing installations and make recommendations for any local changes to the national codes. Each Board is comprised of three embers appointed by the Mayor and confirmed by the City Council.

Budget Review

Total expenditures for the department were $196,569.51 for FY 18, this is a decrease of $5,919.86 (-2.92%) over FY 17. The overall decrease was seen in the salaries, repairs, maintenance and utilities and commodities categories. The majority of the savings occurred in the salary category. Revenue was up in FY 18 due to a change in the permit fee structure. The majority of the fees that the City was charging for the various types of building permits had not been reviewed and increased for several years. The increase was done to keep up with the cost of providing inspection services. The cost of the permits does not cover the full cost of inspections. Members of the Building & Inspections department participate in IPERS which was flat for expenditures compared to FY 17. The department does not have a dedicated capital improvement budget. When capital needs arise, they have normally been funded either out of the Capital Improvement Reserve of the City or the Technology Fund. While not reflected in the budget numbers presented on this page, the department did purchase a new vehicle for the department in FY 18. The cost of the vehicle was funded through the Capital Improvement Reserve. Overall the department expended 84.46% of its budget.

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