We are in the process of discussing a shared Building Department arrangement with the City of Ferndale. Currently we have an internal Building Inspector and we anticipate the Township could save 75 percent of the cost of this service by sharing the function with Ferndale.
Comment from System Admin - 04/02/13
Ferndale indicated they are not receptive to this shared service proposal so they have subsequently been removed as a partner per a request by the City Manager's office.
Any further updates will be added by the Royal Oak Township Clerk as she confers with the leadership of the City of Ferndale.
Update December 2013:
The CTRO continues to utilize an independent contractor to facilitate all permits and inspections. While we utilize this contractor's services, inspection and permitting procedural systems will be updated and in compliance with SOM requirements until such a time the CTRO can provide this service in-house or secure a shared service with a neighboring community. The barrier is the small amount of the Townships building activities to warrant a partnership. The current permit fee structure is at par with the cost of providing this service. Our mission is to ensure that inspections are being performed by qualified licensed professionals while charging citizens as low a fee as possible for these services.