HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-08-20; Fire Department Cost Recovery Program Notification (Districts - All); Calderwood, MichaelTo the members of the:
CITY COUNCIL
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Aug.20,2021
Council Memorandum
To: Honorable Mayor Hall an
From: Michael Calderwood, Fir C!..U.li11+-
Via: Scott Chadwick, City Ma g
Re: Fire Department Cost Recovery Program Notification (Districts -All)
{city of
Carlsbad
Memo ID# 2021159
This memorandum provides information related to the Fire Department Cost Recovery Program.
Background
The Fire Department has performed annual fire inspections of all apartment buildings, hotels and
motels, and school sites since 2018, in accordance with the state mandate found in Health &
Safety Code Section 13146. Although the mandate language permitted the charging of fees to
recover costs associated with conducting these inspections at the local level, Carlsbad opted not
to collect cost-recovery fees at that time.
A fee-based cost recovery program was created to address the ongoing costs associated with
mandatory annual inspections. On June 8, 2021, City Council approved and adopted a new fee
schedule for fiscal year 2021-22, which includes fees for all state mandated annual inspections,
with an effective date of Sept. 1, 2021.
Discussion
On Aug. 18, 2021, the Fire Department disseminated notification letters to all Carlsbad
businesses impacted by the new fee schedule, advising them of the unfunded state mandate and
the city's intent to collect fees for these necessary annual inspections. The letter included
information pertaining to the program structure, fee schedule and invoicing process.
Next Steps
Carlsbad Fire Prevention staff will continue to answer any questions associated with these new fee-
based state mandated programs that may arise from interested parties and members of the public.
Attachments: A. Apartment Fee Letter 2021
B. Hotel Motel Fee Letter 2021
C. Schools Fee Letter 2021
cc: Geoff Patnoe, Assistant City Manager
Celia Brewer, City Attorney
Randy Metz, Fire Marshal
Fire Department
2560 Orion Way I Carlsbad, CA ZIP 92010 I 760-931-2141 t
August 18, 2021
Carlsbad Apartment Building Owners & Property Managers
RE: Multi-Family Residential Program Inspection Fees
Dear Property Representative:
Attachment A
{ Cicyof
Carlsbad ·
Fire Department
The Carlsbad Fire Department has performed annual fire inspections of all apartment buildings
since 2018, in accordance with the state mandate found in Health & Safety Code Section 13146.
It has been our pleasure to work with you all over the past three years as we looked to not only
comply with the mandate but ensure that all of our apartment communities were being
maintained in a safe and acceptable manner, and in accordance with state fire, building and
property maintenance codes. I believe that we have made great strides to improve the fire safety
of our apartment buildings and we look forward to continuing to work with you on an annual
basis to maintain this level of safety.
As this mandate was unfunded by the state, we have been performing these mandated
inspections for the past three years at no cost to you as property managers and owners. This has
allowed us to work with you to get your properties back into compliance at no cost to you. We
have evaluated when it would be appropriate to begin charging fees for this program as
permitted in the Health & Safety Code when unfunded mandates are required. In working with
our city leadership, we feel that it is now appropriate to collect fees to recover our costs for
conducting these inspections and managing the program. Your City Council has concurred with
this recommendation and directed us to conduct a fee study with a recommendation back to City
Council. On June 8, 2021, our City Council adopted a new fee schedule for the fiscal year 2021/22,
that included fees for all state mandated annual inspections, with an effective date of September
1, 2021.
As we look to the beginning of our annual inspection process for the 2021 year in September, we
wanted to make you aware of this change and let you know that you will be receiving an invoice
for these inspections based on the number of buildings, with a tiered fee based on the number
of units in each building. Our hope is that this will ensure that small complexes that have a lesser
number of units are not expected to pay the same amount as a property with multiple buildings
with greater unit counts. These fees will be charged in a per building format with the following
tiers:
3-10 Units per Building
11-40 Units per Building
Greater than 40 Units per Building
$187.00
$224.00
$299.00
1635 Faraday Ave I Carlsbad, CA 92008 I 760-602-4665 I www.carlsbadfire.org
If you have multiple buildings on the property, you will be charged based on the above schedule
on one invoice. If your property has several buildings, it is possible that you will receive more
than one invoice as our billing cycle is monthly. These invoices can be paid online, by mail, or in-
person. Please contact our offices with the proper billing contact information or if there is a
change of contact and/or mailing address.
If you have any questions regarding this cost recovery fee process, please don't hesitate to reach
out to either myself (randy.metz@carlsbadca.gov) or our Program Administrative Assistant
Amber Ressmer (amber.ressmer@carlsbadca.gov). Either of us should be able to answer any
questions that you may have regarding this new fee-based cost recovery program or the State
Mandated Multi-Family Residential Annual Inspection Program in general.
Sincerely,
Randall Metz, EFO, CFO, FM
Fire Marshal
Carlsbad Fire Department
August 18, 2021
Carlsbad Hotel Industry Partners
RE: Mandated Annual Hotel/Motel Inspections -Fees
Dear Hotel Representative:
Attachment B
( Cicyof
Carlsbad
Fire Department
The Carlsbad Fire Department has performed annual fire inspections of all hotels and motels
since 2018, in accordance with the state mandate found in Health & Safety Code Section 13146.3.
It has been our pleasure to work with you all over the past three years, as we looked to not only
comply with the mandate but ensure that all of our hotel sites were being maintained in a safe
and acceptable manner, and in accordance with state fire, building and property maintenance
codes. I believe that we have made great strides to improve the fire safety of our hotels, and we
look forward to continuing to work with you on an annual basis to maintain this level of safety.
As this mandate was unfunded by the state, we have been performing these mandated
inspections for the past three years at no cost to our hotel industry partners. This has allowed us
to work with you to get your hotels back into compliance at no cost to you. We have evaluated
when it would be appropriate to begin charging fees for this program, as permitted in the Health
& Safety Code 13146.2{b), when unfunded mandates are required. In working with our city
leadership, we feel that it is now appropriate to col.lect fees to recover our costs for conducting
these inspections and managing the program. Your City Council has concurred with this
recommendation and directed us to conduct a fee study with a recommendation back to City
Council. On June 8, 2021, our City Council adopted a new fee schedule for the fiscal year 2021/22, I
that included fees for all state mandated annual inspections, with an effective date of September
1, 2021.
As we look to the beginning of our annual inspection process for the 2021 year in September, we
wanted to make you aware of this change and let you know that you will be receiving an invoice
for these inspections based on the number of hotel buildings, with a tiered fee based on
complexity of the hotel property site. Fees will apply to both hotels and motels. Our hope is that
this will ensure that small hotels that have a lesser number of buildings/tenant rooms are not
expected to pay the same amount as a resort style hotel with multiple buildings and an increased
number of tenant rooms. These fees will be charged with the following tiers:
1-5 Buildings per Property
6-10 Buildings per Property
More than 11 Buildings per Property
$523.00
$896.00
$1120.00
1635 Faraday Ave I Carlsbad, CA 92008 I 760-602-4665 I www.carlsbadfire.org
Based on the above listed tiers, you will be charged one fee per hotel based on the number of
buildings on the property. These invoices can be paid online, by mail, or in-person. Please contact
our offices with the proper billing contact information or if there is a change of contact and/or
mailing address.
If you have any questions regarding this cost recovery fee process, please don't hesitate to reach
out to either myself (randy.metz@carlsbadca.gov) or our Program Administrative Assistant
Amber Ressmer (amber.ressmer@carlsbadca.gov). Either of us should be able to answer any
questions that you may have regarding this new fee-based cost recovery program or the State
Mandated Annual Hotel/Motel Inspection Program in general.
Sincerely,
Randall Metz, EFO, CFO, FM
Fire Marshal
Carlsbad Fire Department
August 18, 2021
City of Carlsbad School Principals, Directors & Administrators
RE: Mandated Annual School Inspections -Fees
Dear School Leaders:
Attachment C
C cityof
Carlsbad
Fire Departmen t
The Carlsbad Fire Department has performed annual fire inspections of all school sites since 2018,
in accordance with the state mandate found in Health & Safety Code Section 13146.3. It has been
our pleasure to work with you all over the past three years, as we looked to not only comply with
the mandate but ensure that all of our school sites were being maintained in a safe and
acceptable manner, and in accordance with state fire, building and property maintenance codes.
I believe that we have made great strides to improve the fire safety of our schools, and we look
forward to continuing to work with you on an annual basis to maintain this level of safety.
As this mandate was unfunded by the state, we have been performing these mandated
inspections for the past three years at no cost to your school districts. This has allowed us to work
with you to get your schools back into compliance at no cost to you. We have evaluated when it
would be appropriate to begin charging fees for this program, as permitted in the Health & Safety
Code 13146.3(b), when unfunded mandates are required. In working with our city leadership, we
feel that it is now appropriate to collect fees to recover our costs for conducting these inspections
and managing the program. Your City Council has concurred with this recommendation and
directed us to conduct a fee study with a recommendation back to City Council. On June 8, 2021,
our City Council adopted a new fee schedule for the fiscal year 2021/22, that included fees for all
state mandated annual inspections, with an effective date of September 1, 2021.
As we look to the beginning of our annual inspection process for the 2021 year in September, we
wanted to make you aware of this change and let you know that you will be receiving an invoice
for these inspections based on school type, with a tiered fee based on complexity of the campus.
Fees will apply to both public and private schools. Our hope is that this will ensure that small
schools that have a lesser number of classrooms/buildings are not expected to pay the same
amount as a campus with multiple buildings and an increased number of classrooms. These fees
will be charged in a school campus format with the following tiers:
Preschool/Kindergarten
Elementary/Middle Schools
High Schools
$373.00
$598.00
$896.00
1635 Faraday Ave I Carlsbad, CA 92008 I 760-602-4665 I www.carlsbadfire.org
If you have multiple school campuses in your district, you will be charged on a single invoice for
all school campuses. These invoices can be paid online, by mail, or in-person. Please contact our
offices with the proper billing contact information or if there is a change of contact and/or mailing
address.
If you have any questions regarding this cost recovery fee process, please don't hesitate to reach
out to either myself (randy.metz@carlsbadca.gov) or our Program Administrative Assistant
Amber Ressmer (amber.ressmer@carlsbadca.gov). Either of us should be able to answer any
questions that you may have regarding this new fee-based cost recovery program or the State
Mandated Annual School Inspection Program in general.
Sincerely,
Randall Metz, EFO, CFO, FM
Fire Marshal
Carlsbad Fire Department