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INDIAN RIVER COUNTY, FLORIDA <br />MEMORANDUM <br />TO: Jason E. Brown; County Administrator <br />THROUGH: Roland DeBlois, AICP; Community Development Director <br />FROM: Scott McAdam, Building Official <br />DATE: October 6, 2019 <br />SUBJECT: Request to Waive Bid Process for Supplemental Building Inspection Services for <br />Fiscal Year 2019/2020 <br />It is requested that the data herein presented be given formal consideration by the Board of County <br />Commissioners at its regular meeting of October 15, 2019. <br />DESCRIPTION & CONDITIONS <br />For the past number of years, the County has relied on supplemental building inspection services <br />to handle increased inspection loads even as the County continues to seek hiring additional <br />inspectors. The County does not have existing bid awards with any such companies, and therefore <br />is limited to authorizations of $75,000 per company unless the Board waives the bid process. As <br />a result, for the past three fiscal years the Board has approved waiving the bid process for qualified <br />supplemental building inspection service providers. Because authorizations per company will <br />exceed the $75,000 limit during the 2019/2020 fiscal year, staff is again seeking Board approval <br />to waive the bid process for this fiscal year. <br />ANALYSIS <br />The Building Department continues to experience a steady increase in permit and inspection <br />activity. This increased demand and the desired level of customer service have created the need <br />for increased inspections which are unable to be met by current staffing. The County has <br />advertised and diligently searched for additional inspectors for the past 48 months, with some <br />success, although a full team of inspectors has not yet been filled. Staff has confirmed that many <br />Florida counties are still in the same difficult hiring situation and some jurisdictions have <br />significant unfilled position vacancies. In fact, supplemental providers are also having difficulty <br />fulfilling demand and it is in the County's interest to have a pool of supplemental providers to use. <br />Staff is currently working on increasing the pool of supplemental providers. <br />It is anticipated that the County will need to continue relying on supplemental inspection services <br />during the newly started fiscal year. Accordingly, the County has budgeted $850,000 for such <br />services for fiscal year 2019/2020. <br />7 <br />