Fairfield ups multifamily inspection fees; debate grows over using revenue to fund more fire marshals

The Fairfield Fire Department told the commission that a revised inspection-fee schedule has increased revenue collected for multifamily inspections to about $19,120 so far this fiscal year, up from approximately $5,700 under the old fee structure.

“With the old fee structure we only generated about $5,700 in revenue,” Fire Chief Cronin said. Under the new schedule the department has invoiced or collected $19,120 and reported roughly 57 multifamily inspections completed to date, with an estimated 188 multifamily properties townwide. The chief said larger condominium complexes and several college dormitories were surprised by per-unit charges and that staff negotiated reduced, one-off fees this year to give owners time to budget for the change.

Commissioners debated whether the inspection revenue should be used to pay for additional fire marshals. One commissioner argued fees should fund 50%–75% of marshal positions and asked staff to produce an hourly run-rate for a fire marshal; the chief replied that the office’s central objective is code compliance, not revenue generation, and cautioned that inspection work often reveals costly remediation orders for property owners.

The discussion also considered dormitory inspections: two colleges (named in the packet as Sacred Heart and Fairfield University) were projected to face inspection bills in the mid-five figures under the original per-unit proposal; staff recommended a model charging roughly a dollar per sleeping area to reduce disproportionate impacts on campus housing.

Commissioners asked staff to continue reviewing fees, to consult neighboring towns’ practices (several commissioners named Westport, Bridgeport and towns participating in a regional trial), and to hold periodic meetings with department leaders to monitor the program and compare staffing costs to fee revenue.