TAMPA - Imagine being able to negotiate the fees you pay for water and garbage service.

For years, the building industry in Hillsborough County has played a big role in deciding how much it pays in permit fees to the county for the cost of reviewing designs and inspecting home sites.

"There's been a culture, or practice, of the industry having more input in the budgets," said Bruce McClendon, director of the county's Planning and Growth Management Department. "I'm not saying that's wrong. It's just different than most places."

Recently, a county auditor told commissioners that Hillsborough lost $2.6 million in fiscal 2005 because the permit fees had not been raised since 2002. The lost revenue meant fewer inspectors could be hired at a time of unprecedented growth in the county.

The county is considering increases in the fees and is re-evaluating the influence builders have over fees and other matters related to how the county regulates the building industry.

Permit fees charged to the building industry pay to fund the county's Building Services Division. McClendon said the county rarely has asked builders to pay more than the bare minimum.

"We self-imposed ourselves with the smallest amount to get by on," he said. "I fault us. I fault the bureaucracy."

Bernardo Garcia, a former assistant county administrator of development and infrastructure, said the Tampa Bay Builders Association has been involved with the wording of ordinances and in hiring decisions involving the building division.

"They would get involved whether you wanted them or not," said Garcia, who retired in March.

With 1,800 members in Hillsborough and Pinellas, the TBBA is the second largest builders group in Florida and among the largest in the nation. Joseph Narkiewicz, the association's executive vice president, said there's nothing unusual about the industry's relationship with the building division in Hillsborough.

"It's a relationship between the regulated industry and the regulators," he said. "There's no such thing as a cozy relationship in that regard."

The cost of permit and inspection fees and other impact fees typically is passed along to buyers, and Narkiewicz said that's why builders want a say about the fees and other regulatory decisions.

"It's in our interest to make sure the final product is affordable," he said. "New regulations and fees drive up costs; then people wonder why there's an affordable housing crisis."

New Director

In the fall, Garcia and McClendon say, the Builders Association asked to participate in the hiring of a new director for the Building Services Division, which assesses the permit fees. They said the request was denied.

Jerry Sparks, who got the job, soon noticed the county had lost millions of dollars because it had failed to update permit fees since 2002.

Building permit fees are charged to pay for plan examiners, construction inspectors and other costs associated with regulating the building industry. The fees are calculated based on construction values and home size and can range from a few hundred dollars to several thousand dollars.

The fees generated $19.1 million last year, up from $15.1 million the previous year, and the number of permits being processed increased to 138,822, up from 109,889.

To contend with that growth, the builders supported a county plan last year to add 21 positions to the Building Services Division.

Instead of raising rates, the county and builders agreed to rely on a reserve fund created by the fees, then began arguing over the appropriate size of the reserve as the fund dwindled more quickly than expected.

County Administrator Pat Bean said she wasn't aware the fees had been stagnant since 2002 until Sparks proposed an increase and she began hearing complaints from builders.

"I still don't know why they weren't updated," she said.

Dave Ford, who held the job before Sparks, did not return calls.

Builders and county officials are meeting periodically to discuss the fees and other issues in dispute. In the meantime, five of the 21 positions requested last summer remain open, contributing to a work backlog.

Bean said builders don't have any undue influence over the county's building department.

"I wouldn't say the builders were controlling the decisions," she said.

Differing Relationships

Neighboring counties work with builders in different ways.

In Pinellas County, building permit fees have increased 10 percent each of the past five years, said Jack Tipton, assistant director of the building department.

"We've never had any input from the builders, and they don't seem to complain," Tipton said. "They realize that costs are going up."

Pasco County hasn't changed its fees since 2001. Polk County plans to update its permit fees for the first time in about two decades, said John Hall, the county's building division director.

Hall said a consultant is being hired to review the charges and make recommendations. He said builders will have input on the consultant's recommendations.

"It is their dollars that pay for the service," Hall said. "Because we know the homeowner is ultimately the payer of the fees, we don't want it to be unduly high."

There are signs that Hillsborough is beginning to distance itself from builders.

In addition to the discussion about raising permit fees, county commissioners have signaled they are ready to increase the impact fees homebuilders and developers pay for new schools associated with growth, and staff regulators are enforcing tougher rules on stormwater retention associated with development.

"I feel the relationship has become more adversarial," said industry veteran Jim Lee, president of Sabal Homes Inc.

On the other hand, a TBBA representative was on the committee that hired a replacement for Garcia, the former assistant county administrator, and the group reviewing the fee rates will have four builders and three county officials, including Sparks. That group will make a recommendation on permit fees to the county commissioners, who have the final say.

McClendon said it's important to maintain good communication with the industry.

"We don't want to steamroll the builders," McClendon said. "We want a partnership."

Contact Mark Holan at (813) 259-7691 or mholan@tampatrib .com.