New fee structure estimated to earn over $300,000 in revenue The
cost of conducting business in Morgan Hill will increase a little
this year, as the City Council unanimously approved new fire
inspection fees last week.
The cost of conducting business in Morgan Hill will increase a little this year, as the City Council unanimously approved new fire inspection fees last week.
Though the city has always inspected businesses for fire safety, this will be the first year fees are charged to cover the cost of inspecting the roughly 937 commercial, industrial and residential businesses in Morgan Hill. The new fee will be $210.
Some businesses were not aware the city had been considering the fees, and then approved them during the City Council meeting Wednesday, Aug. 24.
“I’m dumbfounded,” said Craig Courtney, owner of C&M Auto Service, Inc., when asked this week about his reaction to the new charges. “It takes but a few minutes for them to do a walk-through. That’s a lot of money for their time.”
Courtney said he was not aware that the new fees were approved by the council. His auto service business has been in Morgan Hill for six years.
The amount is still significantly less than the fees in Gilroy, Campbell and San Jose, Finance Director Jack Dilles told the city council last week. Dilles pegged the average fees for all three cities at $258.
Dilles said Gilroy’s annual inspections fees for permitted buildings range between $200 and $281. San Jose’s inspection fees range from $315 to $1,263. Campbell’s inspection fees for day care and residential care buildings are between $50 and 187 and between $187 to $375 for other buildings.
However, Gilroy’s inspection fees are considerably lower, according to Jackie Bretschneider, the city’s fire marshall. She said the city charges an initial fee of $160 and conducts a free safety inspection every other year. Higher risk businesses such as auto repair, woodworking, assembly-line businesses, and restaurants with more than a 50-person occupancy or employees are charged $200 every year. Gilroy’s fees have been in place for more than a decade.
Dilles indicated in Morgan Hill, low-risk operations like office buildings and general retail can go on a three-year cycle and conduct their own self-inspection two out of every three years for $17. They will have to undergo a physical inspection on the third year for $210.
Dilles said the annual fire inspection fees and other new and adjusted charges approved by the council will go into effect Sept. 26.
Fire sprinkler and alarm permit fees also increased from $90 to $341 and hazardous materials plan reviews went up from $200 to $236.
“Fees are based on actual cost to perform an inspection. In some cases, the cost went down,” said Dilles.
Closure inspection fees for hazardous materials facilities were reduced between $6 and $44, depending on the building category. Underground tank fees and above ground tank fees, however, increased between $30 to about $240.
Dilles estimated the city would receive about $301,000 in inspection fees this budget year.
Mayor Kennedy said, “I want to thank the staff and fire department for bringing this to our attention that we were not adequately covering our cost.”
Rose Meily is covers City Hall for the Morgan Hill Times. Reach her at 779-4106 or by e-mail at rm****@*************es.com.
