Submitted By: Jasmine Dieguez
presenter
Presentation By: Jeff Shrum
end
Department: Growth Management
FORMAL TITLE:
title
Contract with JRD & Associates to perform a Growth Management Department fee study pertaining to development and building permit fees, with a not-to-exceed amount of $91,546
end
OCALA’S RELEVANT STRATEGIC GOALS:
Fiscally Sustainable, Operational Excellence
PROOF OF PUBLICATION:
N/A
body
BACKGROUND:
The City of Ocala’s Growth Management Department is seeking approval to utilize JRD & Associates under the Federal Government Services Administration (GSA) competitively awarded Professional Services Contract (GS-10F-0265Y) to study and recommend modifications to the current adopted fee schedule and associated processes to ensure compliance with state law.
Recent state legislative actions have resulted in House Bills (HB) 399 and 803, which impose specific requirements on the City to evaluate the language, methodologies, and fee amounts related to development, building permitting, and inspections. Having a consultant with expertise in conducting fee studies will ensure a professional, comprehensive, and unbiased evaluation of our fee schedule for compliance with state law and minimize the impact on staff as they perform their regular duties. The recent legislation regarding local government fees includes:
• HB 399, approved by Governor DeSantis on March 27, 2026. Development Fees - This bill requires: “The amount of any application fee associated with a development permit or development order must reasonably relate to the direct and reasonable indirect costs associated with the review, processing, and final disposition of the application and must be published on the municipality's fee schedule. The fee may not be based on a percentage of construction costs, site costs, or project valuation.”
o Effective Date: January 1, 2027.
• HB 803, approved by Governor DeSantis on May 6, 2026. Building Permit Fees - This bill requires local governments to ensure their fees specifically address permits for which private providers are used. More specifically, the legislation requires that fees be based on the costs incurred by the local jurisdiction, including the labor costs of personnel providing such services and clerical and supervisory assistance.
o Effective Date: July 1, 2026.
FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS:
Working with Procurement staff, Growth Management staff evaluated multiple vendors. At the conclusion, JRD & Associates was identified as offering the best overall value. The proposed contract contemplates $38,958 for Building Division services and $45,388 for other Growth Management services for a total amount of $84,346. Although travel was not included in the base proposal, staff and the consultant have determined that up to six trips to Ocala may be necessary: three trips for each study (Building and Development). Specifically, the three potential trips are to conduct a project kickoff, provide a mid-point progress update, and deliver a final presentation, all of which are necessary to complete the project. Where possible, these trips may be replaced with virtual meetings. The inclusion of the six trips could add $7,200 to the project cost, bringing the total contract amount not to exceed $91,546.
In comparison of bid submittals, the next lowest bidder, ISF, submitted a proposal of $195,000, approximately $103,454 higher than the proposal from JRD & Associates.
The proposed duration for the overall project is being split into two phases. To address the more immediate effective date of July 1, 2026, included in HB 803, the first phase of the study will cover the building permitting fees, with an approximate eight-to-10-week duration. The second phase of the study will address HB 399, effective January 1, 2027, which addresses development-related (Growth Management) fees, with an approximate 12-week completion period.
The consultant provided examples of past fee study presentations conducted for the cities of South Miami and Pinecrest. Additionally, the Chief Building Official of South Miami provided a strong recommendation for JRD & Associates. She highlighted their successful completion of a previous fee study for the City of Coral Gables and specifically commended the firm’s exceptional communication throughout the process.
Staff recommends approval of the contract award to JRD & Associates.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Funding for this project is available in Fiscal Year 2025-26:
• Account 001-016-061-515-51-31010 (Professional Services/other - Planning) in the amount of $48,988 (includes three travel events $3,600).
• A Budget Resolution is provided on the same agenda to transfer funds from the Building Fund Reserve for Fund Balance (115-099-999-524-81-99999) to the Professional Services/other account (115-016-061-524-52-3101) in the amount of $42,558 (includes three travel events $3,600).
PROCUREMENT REVIEW:
These services were procured in compliance with the City’s procurement policy.
LEGAL REVIEW:
This Agreement will be reviewed and approved for form and legality by City Attorney, William E. Sexton.
ALTERNATIVE:
• Approve with Changes
• Table
• Deny