Fire marshal fee increases considered

An array of fees charged by the State Fire Marshal would increase under a bill heard March 6 by the Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee.

LB434, sponsored by Fremont Sen. Dave Wordekemper, would increase fees on more than a dozen licenses, inspections and reviews undertaken by the fire marshal’s office. For example, under the bill, a fireworks display permit would increase from $10 to $100, a retailer license from $25 to $100 and a distributor license from $500 to $1,000.

The bill also would double the cap on fire alarm inspection fees from no more than $100 to no more than $200 and for building plan reviews from no more than $500 to no more than $10,000.

Wordekemper said many of the fees covered in the bill have not been changed in 20 or 30 years. Not only have the fees not kept up with inflation, he said, they do not cover the cost of providing the services.

“The bill proposes raising a number of fees to help offset the rising costs associated with inspections and licensing services provided by the office,” Wordekemper said. “This is not a revenue generating measure, but rather a necessary attempt to reduce the gap between fee revenue and operational expense.”

Interim State Fire Marshal Doug Hohbein agreed. Testifying in favor of the bill, he said the current $10 fee for a fireworks display permit has not increased since 1986.

Even the highest fees under the new proposed scale are for projects with costs in the millions of dollars, he said, and are lower than those charged by many cities in Nebraska and by surrounding states.

Korby Gilbertson testified in opposition to LB434 on behalf of the Nebraska Realtors Association, Nebraska State Homebuilders Association, Homebuilders Association of Lincoln and the Metro Omaha Builders Association.

She said Nebraska builders and realtors are concerned with the increasing cost of compliance with government regulations, including the types of inspection fees outlined in LB434.

“There was a recent study done by UNO that estimates that 32% of [the cost of] a new construction home built in Omaha goes to satisfying various government regulations,” Gilbertson said. “The national average is 21.5%.”

The committee took no immediate action on the proposal.