Chapter 5.20
LICENSING OF BUILDING CONTRACTORS Revised 6/21
Sections:
5.20.030 Administration – Building inspector.
5.20.050 License application for contractors.
5.20.053 Minimum mandatory conditions.
5.20.055 Required identification of contractors’ vehicles and equipment – Licensing verification.
5.20.060 Repealed. Revised 6/21
5.20.070 Violations. Revised 6/21
5.20.080 Exceptions and exclusions.
5.20.110 Legal proceedings. Revised 6/21
5.20.120 Authorization. Revised 6/21
5.20.010 Purpose.
It is hereby declared to be the purpose, intent, and policy of the town council of the town of Highland, Lake County, Indiana, that in order to safeguard the health, safety, and public welfare of its citizens, the business of building construction and the persons engaged therein as hereinafter defined shall be licensed as set forth herein. [Ord. 908, 1984. Code 1983 § 5-118; Code 2000 § 210.085].
5.20.020 Definitions.
(A) For the purpose of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning:
(1) “Contractor” means any natural person who, for compensation, undertakes to, or submits bids to, or does himself, or has done by others, construction, repair, alteration, remodeling, addition to, subtraction from, and improvement of structures and buildings, moves, wrecks, or demolishes any structure, and/or manages all or any of the above items, and who is responsible for all contracting within the entire project.
(2) “Council” means the town council of the town of Highland, Lake County, Indiana.
(3) “Designee” means the chief building inspector/building commissioner of the town of Highland, Indiana.
(4) “License” means a certificate issued by the board or its designee established pursuant to this chapter which confers upon the holder the privilege to perform as a contractor.
(5) “Maintenance man” means a person who is employed on a permanent basis to keep the premises of a business establishment in good repair.
(6) “Person” means a natural person, partner, partnership, limited partnership, or any form of unincorporated enterprise, owned by two or more persons, and as applied to “corporation” in addition to the corporations, including the officers, directors, and employees thereof.
(7) “Specialty contractor” means one who specializes in a particular branch of the building construction industry, and who shall be licensed and limited to said specific field of work. This shall include but not be limited to landscapers, lawn maintenance services, and snow removal. [Ord. 1574 § 1, 2014].
5.20.030 Administration – Building inspector.
The town council of the town of Highland, Lake County, Indiana, shall have general charge and responsibility of administering this chapter, and said administration responsibility is hereby delegated to the council’s designee, the building inspector. [Ord. 908, 1984. Code 1983 § 5-124; Code 2000 § 210.087].
5.20.040 Duties and policies.
It shall be the duty and policy of the council or its designee to:
(A) Prescribe the form of licenses and issue same; provided, that all such licenses, while in force, shall be under the supervision and control of the council, by and through its designee, the building inspector.
(B) Issue licenses as contractors and specialty contractors to any person who qualifies and complies with the provisions of this chapter and pays the required license fee.
(C) It shall be the responsibility of the council or its designee to adopt and promulgate rules and regulations for the conduct of its business consistent with the guidelines and provisions of this chapter and do all things necessary to effect the provisions of this chapter. [Ord. 908, 1984. Code 1983 § 5-125; Code 2000 § 210.088].
5.20.050 License application for contractors.
(A) Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, any person over the age of 18 years and any corporation which satisfies the further requirements of this chapter shall be licensed by the council or its designee.
(B) Persons seeking to be licensed as a contractor or specialty contractor shall file a written application on a form to be provided by the council or its designee, which shall contain such information as the board or its designee deems necessary to determine the qualifications and competency of the applicant.
(C) The application, if filed on behalf of a firm, co-partnership, association, or corporation, shall contain also the name of the person who actively will manage said business and be licensed. Where a license shall be issued, authority to transact business thereunder as a contractor or specialty contractor shall be limited to one person (officer) of such business to be designated in the application and named in the license. Each other person or employee of such business desiring to act as a contractor or specialty contractor in connection with the business of the firm, co-partnership, or corporation shall be required to take out a separate license.
(D) All applications shall be signed by the applicant or the applicant’s duly authorized officer and shall be accompanied by a recommendation as to the character and honesty of the applicant from two citizens of this county who are not related to the applicant, or in the case of a corporation, its officer, and who shall be owners of real estate in the county where the applicant proposes to actively engage in the contracting business.
(E) Every application shall be accompanied by two recent photographs of the applicant, size one and one-half inches by two inches.
(F) Upon the filing of an application, the building commissioner or the commissioner’s designee may investigate the statements contained herein and, if any statements are found to be untrue, may refuse to examine or license the applicant.
(G) Except as hereinafter provided, all individual applicants for a license as a contractor or a specialty contractor shall submit to and pass an oral and written examination conducted by the building commissioner or the commissioner’s designee. The contents of the examination herein required shall be developed by the designee of the board and he shall, for each license category, test the current levels of skills required of persons to be licensed in said category.
(H) Upon receipt of application and proof of fee payment as prescribed in this chapter, it shall be the duty of the building commissioner or the commissioner’s designee to set a date and notify applicant in writing at least five days before such examination.
(I) Any applicant who fails to qualify for a license as a contractor or specialty contractor may be reexamined at the next succeeding date for examination. But, in any event, any applicant who fails to qualify for the examination on two successive attempts shall be ineligible for reexamination for one year subsequent to the date of his last examination.
(J) Before a license is issued by the building commissioner or the commissioner’s designee to any applicant, the building commissioner or the commissioner’s designee shall require the applicant to file a bond with the county recorder’s office in the amount of $5,000. The bond shall be issued by a surety authorized to do business in Indiana, and be conditioned upon the faithful observance of the ordinances and laws of the county of Lake and state of Indiana relating to contracting and all rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.
(K) Whenever any contractor’s license issued under the provisions of this chapter is revoked by the building commissioner or the commissioner’s designee, the building commissioner or the commissioner’s designee shall deliver the bond of the offending licensee to the town attorney who shall institute proceedings to forfeit the bond.
(L) Every license issued under the provisions of this chapter shall expire at the end of each calendar year (December 31st), and shall be renewed annually upon payment of the required renewal fees as a matter of right, if the applicant for renewal has not violated, during the preceding license period, any of the provisions of this chapter, or the rules and regulations promulgated pursuant thereto.
(M) Applications for renewal shall be filed with the building commissioner or the commissioner’s designee, on a form provided therefor, no later than 60 days prior to the expiration date of the licensee’s current license. The application shall be accompanied by the required renewal fee. The building commissioner or the commissioner’s designee, upon the receipt of the application for renewal and the required renewal fee, shall issue the license in the category said applicant has previously held; provided, that said applicant had not violated any of the provisions of this chapter or the rules and regulations promulgated pursuant thereto.
(N) Upon receipt of an application for renewal by an applicant who, during the precedent licensed period, has violated any of the provisions of this chapter or any rules promulgated by the council or building commissioner or the commissioner’s designee, the building commissioner or the commissioner’s designee shall make such investigation as the building commissioner or the commissioner’s designee deems necessary to determine the fitness of the applicant for renewal of his license. In the event the building commissioner or the commissioner’s designee determines after said investigation that a question exists as to whether the application under consideration should be renewed, they or he shall so advise the applicant and he shall thereafter, within 30 days, show cause to the board or its designee why his license should be renewed. If, after hearing, the council or its designee determines that said license should not be renewed, they or he shall notify the applicant and said applicant thereafter may seek remedies under the laws of the state of Indiana.
(O) No license shall be renewed during any period a license is under citation by the building commissioner or the commissioner’s designee, for violation of any of the provisions of this chapter or any rules promulgated by the building commissioner or the commissioner’s designee; however, the building commissioner or the commissioner’s designee, in the building commissioner’s discretion, may temporarily extend the applicant’s current license for a period or periods of time not to exceed 30 days, or until the act complained of shall be heard by the building commissioner, and during any period of appeal provided for by this chapter.
(P) Schedule of Fees. The fees to be charged for all licenses and renewals shall be according to the following schedule:
Contractor Licensing Fee Schedule
(Effective March 1, 2019)
(1) A filing fee of $32.00 shall accompany an application for examination as a contractor;
(2) A license fee of $64.00 shall be required for the initial issuance of the license upon successful approval of the application;
(3) A license fee of $64.00 shall be required for every annual renewal of a license.
Contractor Licensing Fee Schedule
(Effective July 1, 2020)
(1) A filing fee of $35.50 shall accompany an application for examination as a contractor;
(2) A license fee of $70.50 shall be required for the initial issuance of the license upon successful approval of the application;
(3) A license fee of $70.50 shall be required for every annual renewal of a license.
(Q) All fees shall be paid into the office of the clerk-treasurer of the town of Highland and shall be credited to the town’s general fund.
(R) In the event a licensee shall have been convicted in this state or any other state of obtaining money under false pretenses, extortion, forgery, embezzlement, or criminal conspiracy to defraud, or other like offenses, and a duly certified or exemplified copy of the record in the proceeding is filed with the building commissioner, the building commissioner shall revoke the license issued to the licensee. In the event of the revocation or suspension of the license issued to any member of a co-partnership, association, or corporation or an employee thereof, the license issued to the other co-partner, member, or members of the firm, association, or corporation shall be revoked unless, within the time fixed by the council or its designee, where a co-partnership or association, the connection of the member or employee whose license has been suspended (or revoked), shall be severed and his interest in the co-partnership or association, or his employment thereby in the case of any employee, be terminated, and his share in its activities brought to an end, or where a corporation, the offending officer or employee shall be discharged and shall have no further participation in the corporation activities. [Ord. 1636 § 5, 2016; Ord. 1687 § 1, 2018].
5.20.053 Minimum mandatory conditions.
(A) In addition to any other conditions that may be required in connection with the issuance of contractor licenses under this municipal code, each contractor license issued in connection with the construction, reconstruction, installation, demolition, maintenance, or repair of any commercial building estimated to cost $250,000 or more or in connection with a residential building with five or more units shall be subject to and shall include the following set of mandatory permit conditions and qualifications:
(1) It is a mandatory and material requirement for the issuance and retention of a contractor license that any construction manager, general contractor, or other lead or prime contractor, or any entity functioning in any such capacity, and any lead or prime contractor or subcontractor of any tier or other person or entity that is engaged to perform construction work on the property that is the subject of a contractor license (hereinafter, collectively and individually referred to as “contractor”) shall comply with these qualifications and conditions at all times during their performance of work on the project;
(2) The contractor shall not have been debarred or suspended from performing construction work by any federal, state, or local government agency or authority in the three years immediately preceding the application for a contractor license;
(3) The contractor shall not have been found within the past three years by a court or governmental agency in violation of any law relating to providing workers’ compensation insurance coverage, misclassification of employees as independent contractors, payment of employer payroll taxes, employee income tax withholding, wage and hour laws, prompt payment law, or prevailing wage laws;
(4) The contractor shall maintain appropriate workers’ compensation insurance as required by IC 22-3-5 et seq. and provide documentary proof of such coverage to the building commissioner or his/her designee to be maintained as a public record;
(5) The contractor shall properly classify all employees as employees rather than independent contractors and comply with all laws accordingly for the purposes of minimum wages and overtime, workers’ compensation insurance coverage, unemployment taxes, social security taxes, and federal income tax withholding;
(6) The contractor shall maintain detailed payroll records and provide said records to the building commissioner or his/her designee within five days of a request for the same;
(7) The contractor shall comply with IC 22-2 et seq., with respect to the payment of wages; and
(8) The contractor shall pay all required contributions to the unemployment insurance benefit fund established by IC 22-4-26-1.
(B) In the event any person or entity that is subject to the foregoing conditions and qualifications fails to comply with any of the qualifications and conditions with respect to the project for which the contractor license was issued, the permit shall be deemed, by operation of law, temporarily suspended and all construction work on the entire project shall cease immediately upon issuance of a stop work order by the building commissioner and/or his/her designee until further notice by him/her.
(C) The applicant for the contractor license shall be responsible for requiring that all contractors performing construction work pursuant to the permit comply with the minimum mandatory conditions required by this section for the duration of work on the project. If any person or entity that is subject to those minimum mandatory conditions fails to comply with any of the qualifications and conditions with respect to work on the project and in addition to any other penalties or consequences provided by law, the building commissioner or his/her designee shall issue a stop work order with respect to all construction work on the entire project until the violation is corrected. Upon the building commissioner or his/her designee determining that the violation has been corrected, they shall withdraw the stop work order and construction on the project may proceed.
(D) In the event that a complaint is filed and/or brought to the attention of the town of Highland, the town shall conduct a complete investigation into compliance with the required minimum mandatory conditions. Any documents requested by the town from the contractor license holder shall be produced to the town within five business days after the request. In the event that a violation is found, the contractor license holder shall forfeit the building permit and all fees paid to the town. All documents shall be recorded as public documents and shall be forwarded to local, county, and state prosecuting attorneys and government officials for future investigation and/or prosecution.
(E) In the event the person or entity holding the contractor license is found in violation of any local, state, or federal employment, wage, or tax laws or the minimum mandatory conditions set forth herein, the building commissioner or his/her designee shall not issue a building permit or contractor license to the person or entity for a period of five years from the date of the violation. Any new contractor license building permit issued thereafter shall require the mandatory reporting of all payroll documents including pay stubs for all employees, payment of minimum wage, and statutory overtime, proof of payment of all required unemployment taxes, social security taxes, and state and federal income tax withholding, and proof of current workers’ compensation insurance coverage for the proper amount of employees on a weekly basis. All of these reporting requirements shall be for the duration of the permit. [Ord. 1710 § 1, 2019].
5.20.055 Required identification of contractors’ vehicles and equipment – Licensing verification.
(A) All contractors shall have signs or appropriate displays on two sides of their vehicle(s) or equipment, measuring not less than 12 inches by 12 inches (one sq. ft.) identifying the contractors’ company or business name.
(B) In addition, while performing any work in the town of Highland, a licensed contractor or licensed contractor’s employee shall possess a copy of the current town of Highland contractor’s license. It shall be available for review upon request by any enforcement officer of the municipality.
(C) Failure to comply with the foregoing provision will be an offense subject to the provisions of this code. [Ord. 1574 § 2, 2014].
5.20.060 Enforcement officer. Revised 6/21
Repealed by Ord. 1736. [Ord. 1004, 1994; Ord. 1299 § 4, 2006; Ord. 1616 § 1, 2016; Ord. 1681 § 4, 2018. Code 1983 § 5-126.1; Code 2000 § 210.090].
5.20.070 Violations. Revised 6/21
The town council president, pursuant to IC 36-5-4-11, may, upon the town council president’s own motion, and shall, upon the verified complaint in writing of any person setting forth specifically the wrongful act or acts complained of, investigate any action or business transaction of any licensee and shall have the power to suspend or revoke a license issued by the town of Highland under the provisions of this chapter if, after due proceedings as herein provided, the town council president shall find the holder to have been guilty of the performance or attempt to perform any of the following prohibited acts or conduct:
(A) Wishful or deliberate disregard of the applicable construction codes and ordinances of the town of Highland, state of Indiana, or any rules promulgated pursuant thereto;
(B) Aiding or abetting any unlicensed person to evade the provisions of this chapter or rules and regulations promulgated thereto;
(C) Knowingly combining or conspiring with unlicensed persons with the intent to evade the provisions of this chapter or the rules and regulations promulgated pursuant thereto;
(D) Acting in the capacity of a contractor under any license issued hereunder except in the name of the licensee as set forth on the issued license;
(E) Diversion of funds or property received from prosecution or completion of a specified construction project or operation, where as a result of the diversion, the contractor is or will be unable to complete or fulfill the terms of his obligation to contract;
(F) Paying compensation in money or other valuable considerations to any person other than a licensed contractor for rendering services or doing any act required by this chapter to be performed by a licensed contractor holding a license;
(G) No violation of any provisions of this chapter by an agent or employee of any licensed contractor shall be grounds for the suspension or revocation of the license of the employer. For the purpose of the preceding sentence, a course of dealing shown to have been consistently followed by an employee shall constitute prima facie evidence of knowledge on the part of the employer;
(H) Any person aggrieved by any action by the board or its designee in suspending, revoking, or failing to renew a license may seek judicial review thereof;
(I) The record of the town council president or the town council president’s designee, or a duly certified copy thereof, shall be admissible in any proceedings at law or in equity in any court of competent jurisdiction in this or any other state in which the applicant or licensee charged or under investigation is a party, and where the issues involved in the proceedings are pertinent to the inquiry before the town council president or the town council president’s designee, and the verdict or judgment of the court in any action at law or the decree of the court in any proceeding in equity shall be prima facie evidence of the facts at issue in the proceedings and necessarily adjudicated therein;
(J) The verdict in any prosecution in a court of record of this or any state in which the applicant licensee charged shall have been the defendant shall be conclusive as to the facts charged and at issue in such prosecution;
(K) After the revocation of any license, no new license shall be issued to the same licensee within a period of at least one year subsequent to the date of the revocation;
(L) Whenever a new license is issued by the board or its designee to any person whose license has been previously revoked, the issuance shall be treated as an initial issuance and the applicant shall be required to pay the fees and, in the case of contractors, shall be required to submit to the examination required of all other initial applicants. [Ord. 1736 § 2, 2021].
Penalty, see HMC 15.05.030.
5.20.080 Exceptions and exclusions.
This chapter does not apply to:
(A) An authorized employee of the United States, the state of Indiana, county of Lake, or any political subdivision thereof, so long as the employee does not hold himself out for hire and is acting within the scope of his employment;
(B) Public utilities, where construction, maintenance, and development work performed by their own forces and incidental to their business;
(C) The owner occupant of a dwelling of a two or less residential unit when said owner occupant is installing, altering, or repairing said residential unit;
(D) Any construction, alteration, improvement, or repair of improvements located on any site and project where state and federal law supersedes this chapter;
(E) Any individual who is employed or acts as a maintenance man at his place of employment. [Ord. 908, 1984. Code 1983 § 5-132; Code 2000 § 210.092].
5.20.090 Limitations on town.
Nothing in this chapter shall limit the power of the town of Highland to regulate the quality and character of work performed by contractors throughout the enforcement of building codes and inspections. [Ord. 908, 1984. Code 1983 § 5-133; Code 2000 § 210.093].
5.20.100 Renewal.
Any person actively engaged in the contracting business for a period of one year prior to or on the effective date of the ordinance codified in this chapter shall be issued a license without the requirement of taking an examination if such person makes application to the board or its designee and furnishes adequate proof of his entitlement to be licensed in the category in which he makes application and pays the fees required by this chapter. [Ord. 908, 1984. Code 1983 § 5-134; Code 2000 § 210.094].
5.20.110 Legal proceedings. Revised 6/21
Where in any proceeding before the town council president or the town council president’s designee any contractor or witness shall fail or refuse to attend a request issued by the council or its designee or, appearing, shall refuse to testify or shall refuse to provide any information or data, the production of which is called for by the council or its designee, such request shall constitute a legally enforceable action to be taken by the council or its designee and shall be enforced by any court of this state. [Ord. 1736 § 3, 2021].
5.20.120 Authorization. Revised 6/21
The chief inspector/building commissioner is hereby authorized and empowered to adopt, fix, and establish all rules and regulations necessary for the proper administration of the provisions of this chapter. [Ord. 1736 § 4, 2021].
5.20.130 Insurance.
Liability insurance in an amount not less than $100,000 per occurrence, and property damage insurance in an amount not less than $50,000 per occurrence, shall be required of each applicant. A certificate or copy of the insurance policy shall be filed with the council or its designee by the licensed general and specialty contractors as herein provided. [Ord. 908, 1984. Code 1983 § 5-138; Code 2000 § 210.097].