Re-imagining How We Do Business
It is time to rethink the way we deliver services in Sewall’s Point. CS/HB 803, which was signed by Governor DeSantis will force us to examine the building department. This will affect every resident who applies for a building permit.
Key provisions of the bill that will impact the town are:
- Permit Exemptions: Prohibits local governments from requiring a building permit for work valued at less than $7,500 on a single-family home (g. fencing, pavers, and garage doors), though they will still require permits for most electrical, plumbing, or structural work.
- Uniform Applications: Mandates that the Florida Building Commission develop standardized commercial and residential building permit applications for statewide use to reduce “red tape” and administrative confusion. The permit application for Sewall’s Point is more detailed than Martin County.
- Private Provider Expansion: Revises the role of “private providers” (hired by owners/contractors for inspections), prohibiting local governments from charging administrative registration fees for these providers or requiring a written contract between the owner and provider as a condition for a permit.
- Decision Timeframes: Establishes a 5-business-day timeframe for local governments to review completed permit applications for existing single-family dwellings valued under $15,000 for certain trade work
What is the purpose of building permits?
There are various types of permits. Here on Sewall’s Point, you need a permit for pretty much any work you do on your home outside of routine maintenance. The primary purpose of permits is to recover the costs of administering and enforcing building codes, to review plans, conduct inspections, process applications, and ensure compliance with safety standards—without relying on general taxpayer revenue (such as property taxes).
The last two years, the town has run a deficit in the building department and dipped into reserves despite having the highest building permit fees in the area for what I consider to be routine property maintenance. In FYE 2026, the Building Department Reserve Fund will be tapped for $176,750 to augment the operation of the department. The prior Fiscal Year, the reserves were dipped into for $80,811. The deficits are driven by several factors: less revenue from permits and more costs being assigned to the Building Department.
Part of what is driving the cost shift is that Florida Statute 553.8 (7)(a) states that the municipality can only reserve up to four times the operating budget. If the reserve fund exceeds that level, the municipality must reduce fees. Rather than reduce fees, which would benefit the residents, or re-organize the department to reduce expenses, the town has elected to increase expenses to utilize more reserves and lower the balance. The commission approved this when it approved the budget for FY2026 by a vote of 4-1. While revenue was budgeted to decline by 22%, expenses were budgeted to increase by 12.4%.
That dynamic is about to change.
Permit Fees:
Let’s examine permit fees for what are essentially home repair and maintenance. Approximately eighty percent of the fees (not counting new construction or major renovation) come from these areas in the Town of Sewall’s Point:
Of the 18 listed items, none exceed the $7,500 listed as an exemption, but seven categories require either plumbing, electrical or structural work which would still require an inspection.
When we examine TSP’s fee structure against other municipalities, well res ipsa loquitur (the facts speak for themselves). TSP is greater than or equal to in every category but two. Ask yourself why?
The other major change to the law is the Private Provider Expansion. This allows an individual to hire a private individual or company to perform plan reviews. A function that our building department now performs and charges a base fee of 2% of the construction value.
These changes will go into effect on 1 July 2026.
Checking the Numbers:
FYE 2026 budget for the Building Department is $520,750. The department has 3.6 FTE’s (Full Time Equivalents). The Building Official is the only full-time person assigned; all others are part time. These include the Town Manager (40%), Finance Director (35%), Administrative Assistant (35%), Administrative Assistant (90%) and Public Works (60%).
In FYE 2025, the building department issued 538 miscellaneous permits. If this service was contracted out to Martin County Building Department (which it is when the Building Official is on vacation or sick), they charge TSP either $105/inspection (Chief Inspector Rate) or $117.50/inspection (Asst. Bldg. Official Rate). Assume the higher rate was paid by the town and assume the same level of permits, the cost to Sewall’s Point would have been $62,946.
Compare that to having our in-house Building Official whose salary, benefits and other expenses are more than $160,000 annually.
The town commission could lower permit fees; the town manager could reduce staffing and improve the service delivery. Another bonus would be to stop dipping into the building fund reserves.
The commission will have an interesting budget discussion on August 8th!