Fresno may raise fire inspection fees. Nonprofits say it would kill their fundraising
Fresno is thinking about raising the fees charged for routine inspections from firefighters, and some nonprofits say they’re worried it will put their fireworks fundraising out of business.
Fresno Fire Department Chief Kerri Donis said a study commissioned by the city showed fees needed to start going up back in 2011 but city leaders have punted the decision in past years, choosing to remain at status quo and underfunded.
Fees for inspections, which are required by the state, cover the costs for the time fire officials and other employees spend completing the probe. They were supposed to go up incrementally following the 2011 study so the proposed increases appear to be a larger than a normal increase, Donis said.
“This isn’t some new fee we just came up with. There’s logic and math and science behind it,” she said.
The inspection for one of the roughly 60 “Safe and Sane” fireworks stands in the city has been $626 since 2011, but under the proposed fee would more than double to $1,546. Donis said the amount may give people “sticker shock,” but they were originally supposed to go up to about $1,300 after the 2011 study but never did.
Fireworks sales benefit nonprofits around the city who apply to run them as fundraisers.
Sheldon Schlesinger said he has used fireworks sales for several years to benefit local music nonprofits, the most recent being Central California Music Travelers. The increased inspection costs would mostly negate the profits, he said.
“I think that what’s going to happen is there’s going to be a lot of smaller groups like ours that have smaller stands that say, ‘I’m not going to work seven 16-hour days in the heat if I’m not going to make anything to help my group,’ ” he said.
Fresno City College soccer coach Oliver Germond said the fireworks stand has been a steady fundraiser for his team for more than a decade. He said he was concerned about the increase.
“Selling fireworks has been very helpful for our program to help purchase equipment and travel fees,” he said. “Our school does not provide us with a big budget.”
Fireworks drive up other city costs besides inspections. Every year the fire department has to beef up staffing around the time of sales as they respond to an increased number of calls, according to the chief.
Councilmember Luis Chavez said calls pour into his office every year around the Fourth of July about fireworks-related issues. He said he was wrestling with increasing the costs.
“At some point we have to actually recover the cost,” he said.
Councilmember Esmeralda Soria said the nonprofits could perhaps put pressure on fireworks wholesalers to help cover the new fees, but the city needs to be smart about the costs.
“We have to recognize as a city we can’t continue to kick the can down the road,” she said. “None of us like to raise people’s taxes or raise people’s fees but it is the cost of doing business.”
Councilmember Paul Carioglio said he’d support an increase but only if they happened in smaller increments, allowing nonprofits to adjust.
“I’m active in nonprofits and every dollar counts,” he said.
Fresno also is dealing with an understaffed fire department. The Fresno Fire Department has about 0.53 firefighters for every 1,000 residents. The national average is about 1.5 firefighters per 1,000 people, according to National Fire Protection Association.
Builders also could be impacted
The fees would also go up for routine inspections on buildings.
The proposal shows a smattering of changes where new fees would be created and some types of inspections would actually decrease in costs. But generally the proposal means the cost to business and building owners for the mandatory inspections would increase.
The fire department used the 2011 study and ratcheted up the increases based on the rise in the cost of staff time in the past nine years, according to the chief. That math was double checked by NBS, the consulting firm that developed the 2011 report.
No builder is ever going to support increases in costs, according to Mike Prandini, president of the Building Industry Association of Fresno and Madera Counties.
But Fresno’s proposed fee increases are coming from a 2011 study, making them suspect, he said. He argued the city should do a new study and also audit the fire department’s process to see if they could reduce fees through efficiency.
“We do not actively oppose it, but we do strongly suggest a whole study be prepared to look at their actions and movements,” he said.
The council could vote on the issue at a future meeting.
