Increase is sought on CFO building permits (07/13/06)

The head of a city/county department hopes making several trips to inspect Jay County confined feeding operations will one day be worth more than $25.

Bill Milligan, Jay/Portland Building and Planning administrator, told members of his board Wednesday night that he would like to see the permit fee for CFOs increase in the future.

Milligan said he makes an average of three trips to inspect new CFOs, and sometimes more. He often has to drive long distances to do the inspections, and make several telephone calls.

“I think all the (permit) fees should be looked at,” said board president Bob McCreery.

Milligan said he would like the Jay County Commissioners to review the CFOs fee and possibly increase it. He said the current building permit fees were set up in 1998, and haven’t been increased.

In other business, the board reviewed the department’s proposed 2007 budget.

The budget is currently set at $116,915, which is $3,604 more than the 2006 budget.

Milligan said the increase includes a 3.5 percent pay increase for him, and $2,500 to pay for a new printer for the building and planning office.

If this pay hike is approved by Jay County Council, Milligan’s pay will be $40,365 per year, compared to $38,463.

The printer currently being used is seven years old and can no longer be repaired because replacement parts aren’t made for it anymore, Milligan said. A new printer could cost $1,500 to $2,000, he said.

Another factor in the budget increase is the fact that the cost for worker’s compensation is expected to more than double. This premium is expected to cost $2,440 in 2007, compared to $948 this year.

Milligan said he didn’t know why the cost is expected to increase so much. Jay County Auditor Freda Corwin said this morning that Milligan’s position has been incorrectly classified for worker’s compensation.

The budget must next go to the Portland City Council and the Jay County Council for approval because the building and planning department is a joint effort between the city and the county. Milligan said the county council is expected to review the budget on Aug. 8.

See Increase page 5

Continued from page 1

Also Wednesday, the building and planning board discussed the department’s year to date report.

A total of 173 building permits for projects with estimated construction costs of $24,508,850 have been issued in Jay County since the beginning of the year.

Milligan said a large chunk of the estimated construction value can be attributed to the $15 million renovation to Jay County High School. Renovations include enlarging the swimming pool, replacing the heating and air conditioning system and updating the locker rooms.

Milligan also pointed out that the number of inspections he has completed for projects issued building permits as of June 30 has decreased slightly to 283, compared to 309 this time last year. He said he was unable to do as many inspections during the early part of this year because he spent a lot of time looking for a new administrative assistant.

Pati McLaughlin was hired to fill that position in March, replacing Gayle Davenport.[[In-content Ad]]