Great Falls Fire Rescue and the city planning department proposing changes to the safety inspection certificate program, permits and fee schedules.

The proposed fee increases will impact SICs, emergency medical equipment and transport fees, false alarm activations, non-compliance with fire code violations and other services GFFR provides. Some new fees are also proposed as a cost recovery mechanism for GFFR.

GFFR has been discussing these proposed changes in some form for several years.

At the beginning of 2024, the City Commission directed all city departments to evaluate their current fee schedules and determine if adjustments needed to be made, according to GFFR.

In February 2024, GFFR Chief Jeremy Jones told commissioners during a work session that he’d be asking for one additional full-time fire marshal to improve fire prevention on the front end and lessen the likelihood of major fires that require operational responses.

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Jones said in February that GFFR was also proposing to increase safety requirements for public events through adopting the International Fire Code permitting, reducing EMS standby at public events, further updating fire related city codes, no longer responding to lift assists at staffed living facilities and that GFFR is unable to support development outside the current city limits, meaning annexations.

In May 2024, Jones told City Commissioners the department was proposing changes to streamline the development review process and be more effective in ways that also address public safety.

“We don’t need to beat what happened last fall to death,” Jones said of the failed public safety levy. “But as we know the problem has not gone away. There’s different ways to try to tackle this and this is something that we were working with the city manager’s office before the mill levy to bring. Through the process of that campaign and through changes in leadership in public works and community development and some other things that came along the way, we’ve been able to collaboratively address what you’ll be presented tonight. This is something that we’ve been building on and working toward for over six months now.”

Some of their proposals in May were the same as their 2022 proposals for added permits related to fire prevention.

Fire staff told The Electric that commissioners have indicated they have no appetite for adopting the special event permit structure as part of fire code.

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Mike McIntosh, assistant fire chief for prevention, told commissioners during the May work session that “we’re looking at addressing public safety needs through the eyes of the prevention side of the department.”

GFFR administers the safety inspection certificate program and most businesses in town are required to have an SIC or other permit, such as a home occupancy permit, to operate within the city limits.

McIntosh said GFFR had been working with the planning and public works departments to find ways to improve the development review process while also increasing efforts on the fire prevention and code enforcement side.

The city doesn’t currently have a business license structure, but it did in the past.

In 1995, the city transitioned the business license name to the SIC, according to GFFR, to recover the “cost of services” as determined by a consulting firm.

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At the time, the city conducted its own analysis, resulting in the name change resolution, according to GFFR.

State laws at the time also exempted some professions from obtaining city business licenses.

Under the current city SIC program, all businesses operating in a commercial location must obtain an SIC even if those professions were exempt under the former state laws, according to GFFR.

The SIC program became in effect, a business license, but in evaluating the current program, GFFR found that all other major municipalities in Montana, except Kalispell, operate under a business license structure, McIntosh told commissioners this year.

State law has also changed to no longer exempt certain professions from requiring a business license to operate within a municipality, according to GFFR.

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Under city code, “a business is defined to cover all businesses, associations, occupations, professions, trades, pursuits, vocations, entertainments, social activities, fraternal activities, religious activities located or meeting regularly in buildings or offices, multi-family dwelling units of four or more units with common areas. This includes sole proprietorships, partnerships, corporations, nonprofit corporations, religious organizations, social organizations and fraternal organizations. This includes any person engaged or employed in the business of selling to consumers by going from consumer to consumer, either on the streets or their places of residence or employment, and soliciting, selling or taking orders for future delivery of any goods, wares or merchandise.”

It doesn’t include home occupations. City Commissioners approved changes to those licenses in October.

Existing city code, requires every business in the city limits to “obtain a SIC/business license to ensure that the business and commercial building and/or operation comply with uniform safety codes and other ordinances and regulations enacted for the purpose of protecting the health, safety and welfare of the public,” according to GFFR.

McIntosh said in their experience, many businesses don’t know what the SIC is and it confuses company headquarters located outside of Great Falls, leading to many compliance issues during the annual renewal process. Those compliance issues take a lot of staff time to handle annually, he said.

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GFFR is proposing changing the name back to business license to clear up confusion, streamline the process and increase compliance.

McIntosh told commissioners during their May work session that GFFR started looking at this change several years ago due the troubles with SIC renewals and confusion for people looking to start businesses in Great Falls.

As the Legislature made changes in recent years and a lawsuit regarding implementation of the International Fire Code wrapped up, city staff have been continuing their efforts to clean up city code and streamline process. GFFR has also been working to strengthen the fire code.

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McIntosh said that in recent years, there’s been more development in the city limits, meaning more projects coming through the fire prevention office for plan review to ensure compliance with fire codes.

The city has established a timeline in their development review for returning reviews to developers to keep the process moving, but with everything on GFFR’s plate, McIntosh said sometimes it takes a back seat.

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As an example, he said the morning of their May 7 work session, there was a working house fire and in that case, his office didn’t have to do an investigation, but those can tie up fire prevention staff for about a week and those investigations take precedence over plan review.

In May, he told commissioners that GFFR was requesting an additional full-time fire prevention employee to focus on plan review but also public education which is a “glaring hole” at GFFR. That person would also be trained in fire inspections and investigations, he said.

City Manager Greg Doyon did not include funding, $104,775, for that position in the budget that commissioners adopted in July.

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McIntosh told commissioners during their May work session that the last time GFFR had adjusted their fees was 2022, which was only EMS reimbursements and fees for false alarms.

Before that, some fees were looked at in 2019 and the last time the SIC fees were adjusted was 2017, he said.

From 1999 to 2005, GFFR fees stayed largely the same, he said.

“We have very rarely come to you asking for fee increases,” he told commissioners.

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Their proposed fee increases were based on similar fees in other Montana cities and the western consumer price index. For EMS fees, the proposal came from their billing agency based on the Medicaid/Medicare reimbursements they have to pay and the proposed increase is just to keep up with that, McIntosh told commissioners.

GFFR had proposed in 2022 to adopt more permitting under the new fire code and again in May to add permits for amusement buildings, carnivals, fairs, trade shows, explosives, mobile food prep vehicles, open burning and outdoor assembly events.

McIntosh said GFFR has to do safety walkthroughs for those types of events and there was in incident a few years ago of a company using explosives for construction and inadvertently blew up a sewer line.

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The proposed fees would help GFFR recoup the cost for their staff time for work they’re already doing to ensure public safety and would help prevent anyone using explosives in the city without review by GFFR.

Fire staff told The Electric that commissioners indicated they had no appetite for adopting that permit structure, but GFFR was proposing some new fees related to special events to recoup their cost for safety inspections, which they require to ensure public safety.

McIntosh told commissioners that changing the name from SIC to business license won’t actually change the process and a business will still need all the applicable approvals from city departments and the county health department is needed.

Commissioner Joe McKenney asked during the May meeting if there had been collaboration with the business community to which McIntosh said yes and the process of considering these changes has been going on for five to six years.

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McKenney asked McIntosh what he was trying to tell them in terms of the last times fees were adjusted.

“We have not kept up with the cost of doing business that really meets the needs of what we’re doing and the services we’re providing the City of Great Falls.”

McKenney asked in May if GFFR had the staffing to take on more permitting.

McIntosh said that was part of why they were asking for the additional fire prevention staff as “we are stretched very thin. “We’re doing all of this already, we’re just not charging the permits and working with the people upfront on it,” since permits aren’t required for certain aspects of fire prevention.

Commissioner Rick Tryon said “this is going to have an impact on people doing business here.”

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He said  in May that it was a good idea to shift to the business license model to streamline but “I get concerned about how this is going to impact people wanting to do business here and doing business here.”

McIntosh said he understood Tryon’s concern, but “with way city is growing and expanding, people are coming here anyway and doing business. Montana is about 10-15 years behind the rest of nation.”

He said these processes are commonplace now around the state the rest of the county.

McIntosh said Great Falls may not like it, “but this is the way it is today.”

Commissioner Shannon Wilson said in May that some of the changes, particularly requiring food trucks to have fire suppression systems, was a change in state law and not dictated by the city.

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McIntosh said during the May meeting that they’d been communicating with food truck operators for several years that those changes were coming and went into effect this year.

After the May 7 meeting, commissioners offered no feedback or direction to GFFR on the proposed changes, according to staff.

After a few months, McIntosh followed up and was told that commissioners weren’t interested in moving forward with the fees or adopting the proposed permits.

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Since it was late in the budget cycle, it wouldn’t likely have made it into the current budget, staff told The Electric, and if adopted, the proposed fee increases and new fees won’t generate enough to add any of the staff or equipment GFFR needs, but it will help GFFR recoup the cost for services and revenues coming into GFFR go to the city’s general fund.

During their Nov. 19 meeting, McIntosh gave commissioners a presentation similar to the one from May, but this time was joined by Brock Cherry, city planning director.

Cherry said that the business license structure would be more clear and would capture zoning code and fire code compliance.

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He said that so far the city has piecemealed rules relating to food trucks and is recommending adopting new language into the code to make it more clear.

McIntosh said with the state law change that put the fire suppression system requirement in place for food trucks, GFFR has to inspect those annually and have worked with city planning and Cascade City-County Health Department to establish a procedure. GFFR is proposing a few to recoup the cost of those inspections.

Cherry said they’re also proposing to add an additional fee for cannabis retailers, medical and recreational, similar to the fees in place for bars and other alcohol retailers.

McIntosh shared a resolution from Billings, which only allows medical dispensaries in the city limits, that established a $3,950 annual business license fee for those establishments.

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In Great Falls, under the current SIC structure, those businesses would be charged $232 for an initial fee and $63 annually.

McIntosh told commissioners during their Nov. 19 meeting that they’re also proposing to clean up code language regarding the violation penalty for not renewing an SIC or operating within the city limits without an SIC.

McIntosh told commissioners that GFFR began mailing SIC renewal letters, about 2,800, and renewals are due by Dec. 31.

It’s a long process, he said, when businesses don’t renew by the deadline and GFFR has to send more letters by Jan. 31 assessing a $31 late fee, then a third mailing and then GFFR personnel have to visit businesses that haven’t renewed and issue another letter, then the matter is referred to Municipal Court.

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GRRF is proposing to clean up that process so that if a business doesn’t renew by March, they have to obtain a new license at the initial fee and if they don’t, fall under the penalty process for operating without a license.

Cherry said it sounds punitive, but their goal is compliance.

He said that for the most part, staff can work through it with business owners, but some refuse to cooperate and act in bad faith, so penalties are needed.

“It doesn’t change our culture of being solution oriented,” he said, and walking people through to become compliant.

McIntosh said that by just changing the same from SIC to business license, they expect it to increase renewals and new businesses getting the necessary license.

Cherry told commissioners that they also want to update code to remove some antiquated provisions such as teen parties and coin operated sexual devices; and also update city code to reflect the state law change regarding licenses for those in the trades.

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City Manager Greg Doyon said during the Nov. 19 meeting that he had some discussions with Cherry regarding the state’s change to trades licensing and there was some disagreement, but that he understands the planning department’s intent to verify those licenses to protect property owners.

Doyon said that his thought is that if the state thinks it knows better on how to do licensing, “then let people live with that.”

He said it bugs him to have to do this additional step after the Legislature changed the rules, but that the city would end up taking the brunt of the issues.

Commissioner Rick Tryon asked if the city would charge for that license verification.

Commissioners approved that new process and fees for license verification in October.

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They also approved a code change regarding the coin operated sexual devices that month.

During the Nov. 19 work session, McIntosh told commissioners that the proposed fee structure is “significant” and that, for the most part, it was presented to commissioner in May.

“We didn’t necessarily get direction on that,” McIntosh said, and knew the city’s public safety advisory committee was discussing revised fees for fire and police, so they brought the proposal back to commissioners.

The SIC fees last changed in 2017 and the proposed increases are based on the western consumer price index, which is about 3.6 percent on existing fees.

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As an example, the smallest tier of an SIC fee, which is based on property square footage, is currently $132 for the initial issuance and $63 for annual renewals.

GFFR is proposing to increase that tier to $170 for the initial issuance and $80 for renewals.

They’re also proposing to increase the reinspection fee be established at $100 for any compliance issues from the initial inspection in the SIC process. Reinspection fees increase each time.

New fees for special events, open burn permits, fire suppression system acceptance and others are proposed as “cost recovery for staff time that right now we’re not being compensated for,” McIntosh said, and mirror fees instituted in other municipal fire departments statewide.

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Mayor Cory Reeves asked McIntosh and Cherry if they were looking for direction or just giving commissioners an update.

“We want direction,” Cherry said and staff wants to move forward on the work as “we’re eating an elephant.”

Reeves said he was comfortable moving forward.

Tryon said he was comfortable moving forward, but suggested that they consider doing a little bit at a time for fees, but wasn’t sure if that was possible or practical.

He said spreading it out would allow more time for the public to weigh in and that can’t be done if they’re addressed at once.

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Commissioner Shannon Wilson said they needed public input but didn’t see a problem with considering the fees as a package.

“They need the help now. Let’s just do it,” she said.

Commissioner Joe McKenney joked about his experience with name changes in the tavern industry and said he wanted to see community outreach regarding the proposed fee increases.

Looking around the work session room, he said it was mostly city staff and “this is not community outreach. We say the community has a responsibility to pay attention to what we do. Yeah right.”

He said he didn’t know if commission meetings were broadcast live or if many people watched them.

All commission meetings, except the commission’s annual retreat, are broadcast live on the city’s public access channel and streamed live on the city website.

The Electric has requested viewership numbers for those meetings.

McKenney said he’d like to see staff do short presentations at some local business organizations, such as a mobile food vendor association if it existed.

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After the meeting, McIntosh told The Electric that he’d been directed to draft a letter to all current SIC holders regarding the proposed changes and those letters should be going out this week with the proposed fee schedule. He provided The Electric a draft that may have some minor edits from the city manager’s office before being mailed.

Doyon told commissioners that their next work session discussions will start focusing on the next budget and funds that have been identified over the years as non-performing funds.

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He said that last year, former Commissioner Eric Hinebauch asked when the city would start fixing some funds and Doyon said as they started looking at them more carefully, they realized it’s not easy.

Those funds include parking, multi-sports, planning and community development, natural resources, golf courses, swimming pools, Scheels Aim High Big Sky, recreation, Civic Center events, health and benefits.

Those funds are enterprise funds, meaning they’re designed to be self-supporting through user fees rather than be funded through the general fund, which is largely property tax revenue.

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Doyon said commissioners need to have a “philosophical discussion” on some of these funds and that staff will be looking for direction in terms of does the city charge what it costs to provide the services, do they discontinue services, consider outside management or privatization, or just accept that some will fluctuate based on utilization, commission priorities, seasons, economic conditions and general fund support.

Doyon said that perhaps they get to a point where they say there’s not a lot we can do, review the funds annually “but not complain” that they’re not performing.