By Megan Kelley
Editor
mkelley@mihomepaper.com
INDEPENDENCE TWP. — During its meeting on Oct. 22, the Independence Township Board of Trustees voted unanimously to approve changes and increases to the building department’s fee schedule.
According to David Moran, Director and Official of the township’s building department, there are several reasons that these changes are necessary. The most pertinent being, according to state law, it is the obligation of the building department to provide a number of services for customers, most of which require a properly staffed office. Moran added that in 2021, the building department oversaw the issuance of an inspection process of 491 building permits, 1,517 trade permits and 3,745 total inspections. Moran anticipates the township surpassing 1,100 building permits, 2,020 trade permits and 8,100 total inspections this year.
“This is a dramatic increase of over 100% in the last three years and has been absorbed by my department. This is due in part to the fact that we have three very active projects – single family, multi family and apartment projects as well as a vast number of homeowners who are staying put in their existing homes and investing in these homes with improvements,” said Moran.
Moran also stated that the department has consistently been managing over 1,000 active permits.
“Obviously, with this increase in permits and inspections, my department is critically understaffed and in need of additional support. I’m very blessed with the outstanding professionals and the staff who work efficiently every day to provide courteous customer service. I believe this is one of the top building departments in this state. I’m very proud of the work that we put out there each and every day and I could not do it without each and every one of my staff,” Moran said.
One of Moran’s goals going forward is to continue to upgrade the efficiency of the department which would include providing additional services like electronic plan reviews. However, those services would also require improvements so those permits can be issued online.
With all of that in mind, the township has not had enough incremental fee increases over the years to keep up with the fees of the surrounding communities or with inflation. According to Moran, the fee schedule saw an increase of just two cents in 2021, 2022 and 2023 in the following areas: square footage fees for new construction, additions, accessory structures and decks only.
“This increase did not amount to much revenue and didn’t make a dent in my department’s ability to upgrade services,” said Moran.
Before that, the last fee schedule adjustment was made nine years ago in 2015 and was not a sweeping increase in fees.
Moran did work with Carlisle/Wortman Associates to put together a fee study which was also presented at the meeting.
The fee schedule approved by council is sweeping as it recommends an increase in all areas except for license and registration fees which are set by the state.
The new fee schedule will be effective on Jan. 1, 2025 and can be found either in the Oct. 22 Independence Township Board of Trustees agenda packet or by contacting the building department by calling 248-625-8111 or by email at buildingdept@indtwp.com.