Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 18, September 16, 2024
(a) Records shall be maintained by the
"on-site inspection agency" of all inspections, applications and plans reviewed
and any other information that may be required by the municipal construction
official or the Department. These records shall be open to Department audit and
shall not be destroyed or removed from the offices of the on-site inspection
agency without the permission of the Department.
(b) The on-site inspection agency shall
provide the Department with the following:
1.
A copy of each executed contract and all amendments thereto, including any
attachments containing any terms of the agreement, to be submitted at least 10
days prior to their effective date. Any subsequent amendments shall also be
submitted;
2. A list of the
municipalities served, and a current list of names, addresses and telephone
numbers of the agency's designated representatives actually serving as subcode
officials or inspectors in each municipality, who may be contacted in
connection with routine matters during normal working hours and, in the event
of emergency, during other than normal working hours;
3. A list of names, certification numbers,
addresses and telephone numbers of all technical personnel employed;
and
4. Monthly reports, due on the
15th of every month covering the period of the previous month, setting forth
the following:
i. The number of inspections
performed under each subcode in each municipality and the number of inspections
performed under each subcode in each municipality more than 72 hours after the
receipt of an inspection request by the construction official or the subcode
official, whichever occurs first.
ii. The total number of inspections, broken
down by subcode discipline, performed by the private agency during the
reporting period and the total number of subcode officials and inspectors
available during the reporting period, expressed as full-time equivalent (FTE).
For purposes of this report, one FTE shall be the total number of subcode
official and inspector hours worked during the reporting period divided by
eight, divided by the number of working days in the reporting period. All days
other than Saturdays, Sundays and official holidays shall be considered working
days;
iii. The total payments
received from each municipality during the reporting period; and
iv. The total amount billed to each
municipality during the reporting period.
(c) Except as stated in the regulations, an
executed contract in accordance with the Local Public Contracts Law shall be
required between the on-site inspection agency and a municipality prior to the
enforcement of any subcode in that municipality by the on-site inspection
agency. Supplemental private on-site inspection agencies pursuant to
N.J.A.C.
5:23-4.16 shall be considered specialized
services allowing for the use of competitive contracting pursuant to N.J.S.A.
40A:11-4.1.
(d) The on-site
inspection agency shall not collect fees from the property owner, his or her
designated agent, or anyone in his or her employ. The municipal construction
official shall be the sole agent for the collection of all fees and penalties.
This shall not apply to supplemental private on-site inspection agencies
performing inspections for an owner or designated agent pursuant to
N.J.A.C.
5:23-4.16
(e) Each on-site inspection agency shall have
the following responsibilities:
1. To
maintain an adequate number of certified staff to review all plans and
specifications for all classes and types of construction not reserved to the
State.
2. To act in place of the
municipal subcode official or municipal inspector and to perform the duties of
a subcode official or inspector as defined in these rules, except all notices
of violation and all stop work orders will be issued through the construction
official's office.
3. To report to
the municipal construction official or subcode official and to be subject to
his or her rulings, directives, and orders.
4. To provide adequate supervision, so that
its employees are prompt and diligent in discharging their duties.
5. To carry general liability insurance, at
least in the amount of $ 1,000,000 for each person and each occurrence, to
satisfy claims or judgments for property damage and/or personal
injury.
6. To process and return
all documents, plans, specifications, and applications within the time frame
specified by the rules or the contract with the municipality, whichever is the
lesser.
7. To provide technical
assistance to applicants in the preparation of a construction permit
application, if requested by the construction official.
8. To perform all required inspections and
reinspections.
9. To perform
nondestructive tests, if required by the rules.
10. To give testimony at hearings or in
court, if required by the construction official.
11. To prepare all reports to the Department
as are required by the regulations or as may be required from time to
time.
12. To meet its obligations
under its contract with the municipal enforcing agency.
13. To issue documentation and certification,
such as cut-in cards, to utilities and or public agencies if required by the
rules.
14. To ensure the attendance
of all technical and supervisory employees at required training and orientation
programs.
15. To carry to full
completion and receive all fees on all projects initiated prior to the
termination of their contract with the municipality by reason of non-renewal,
unsuccessful bidding, Department authorization disapproval or other reason
except suspension or revocation.
(f) Except as otherwise provided in this
subsection, no person employed by or associated with an on-site inspection
agency as an employee, proprietor, officer, director, partner or manager shall,
whether directly or indirectly, be engaged in ownership of, or employment by,
or contracting to provide goods or services to, any business or employment
furnishing labor, materials, products or services for the construction,
alteration or demolition of buildings, or for the maintenance of any equipment
or building component the maintenance of which is regulated pursuant to this
chapter, that is engaged in any such activity within any municipality in which
he or she is so employed. Nor shall any such proprietor, officer, director,
partner, manager or employee engage in any other work that conflicts with his
or her or the agency's official duties, including, without limitation,
employment to testify before any construction board of appeals, or to be
involved in any court proceeding within any municipality in which he or she is
so employed, as a paid expert witness against any construction official,
subcode official, inspector or enforcing agency, or in any other compensated
capacity, except on behalf of an enforcing agency, or as a court-appointed
witness.
1. This prohibition shall not apply
to any litigation not involving enforcement of the Code, or as a fact witness;
nor shall it apply to any activities unrelated to an action for, or an appeal
of, enforcement of the Code.
2.
This subsection shall not apply to:
i. The
ownership of stock or other investment instrument in any corporation listed on
any national stock exchange;
ii.
Any such business or employment outside the State;
iii. Any business or employment which is not
subject to the regulations.
3. An on-site inspection agency may employ
municipal subcode officials and inspectors on a part-time basis. This
employment, however, shall be subject to the following conditions:
i. The on-site inspection agency can only
employ municipal subcode officials and inspectors. A municipal construction
official shall not be employed by an agency in any capacity.
ii. The written approval of the construction
official supervising a municipal subcode official or inspector shall be
obtained by the on-site inspection agency prior to hiring such municipal
subcode official or inspector.
iii.
An on-site inspection agency that hires a municipal subcode official or
inspector shall thereupon waive the right to bid or contract in the employed
subcode official or inspector municipality or municipalities.
iv. No person employed by, or associated
with, an on-site inspection agency as an employee, proprietor, officer,
director, partner or manager shall be permitted to retain such employment or
association if he or she accepts employment with a municipality as a subcode
official or inspector enforcing a subcode that was the subject of a contract or
proposed contract for which the on-site agency was an unsuccessful bidder at
any time during the previous 24-month period.
(g) The amount charged to a municipality by a
private agency for work subject to a minimum fee pursuant to
N.J.A.C.
5:23-4.20(c)2, or for
certificates of occupancy, certificates of approval, and certificates of
continued occupancy shall be the percentage set forth in a contract entered
into in accordance with N.J.S.A. 52:27D-124.3, times the amount of the minimum
fee or fee for a certificate of occupancy or certificate of approval, times the
amount determined in accordance with this subsection. For agencies utilizing
N.J.A.C.
5:23-4.16 for supplemental private on-site
inspection agencies, the fees may be established pursuant to
N.J.A.C.
5:23-4.18.
1. In the case of work requiring inspections
by four subcode officials or their designees, the allocation of the fee revenue
shall be as follows:
i. Building subcode: 40
percent;
ii. Fire protection
subcode: 20 percent;
iii. Plumbing
subcode: 20 percent; and
iv.
Electrical subcode: 20 percent.
2. In the case of work requiring inspections
by fewer than four subcode officials or their designees, the allocation shall
be among or between the subcodes involved in the proportions set forth in (g)1
above. (Thus, for example, in work involving only the building and plumbing
subcodes, two-thirds of the fee (40/60) would be allocated to the building
subcode and one-third of the fee (20/60) to the plumbing
subcode.)
(h) Where plan
review is performed more than one month before the construction permit is
issued, or where a project does not go forward after a private on-site agency
has performed plan review, then the municipality shall pay to the private
agency 20 percent of the amount that would otherwise be due, which amount shall
be determined by multiplying the relevant fee set forth in
5:23-4.20 by the percentage set
forth in the contract between the municipality and the private agency entered
into in accordance with
52:27D-124.3.
(i) Private on-site agencies shall bill for
their services at least once monthly. Each bill shall specify the billing
period and the amount currently due, amounts already paid, and any remaining
balances, identified by permit number and totaled for the billing
period.
(j) The bid documents and
contract shall specify whether the private agency shall be paid for work
performed even if the municipality receives no inspection fee for such
work.
(k) Private enforcing
agencies shall charge no fees other than the fees set forth at
N.J.A.C.
5:23-4.20 multiplied by the percentage set
forth in the contract between the private agency and the municipality, unless
the supplemental private on-site inspection agency is acting pursuant to
N.J.A.C.
5:23-4.16 Private enforcing agencies shall
furnish no services other than subcode enforcement or inspection services to
municipalities and shall not receive any payments from municipalities for any
other goods or services whatsoever.
