(A) Contractor registration. This section, and all ordinances supplemental or amendatory hereto, shall be known as the "Requirements for the registration and listing of contractors and subcontractors in the Town of Long Beach, Indiana" and may be cited as such.
(B) Purpose. The purpose of this section is to provide for central information and record keeping of contractor, subcontractor and specialty contractor performance in the hope that minimum standards will be encouraged for the protection of life, health, environment, public safety and general welfare to users of contractors, subcontractors and specialty contractors in the performance of construction, alteration, repair, moving, wrecking and demolishing of any structures.
(C) Administration. The Building Commission or its designee is hereby authorized and directed to administer and enforce all provisions of this section.
(D) Definitions. For the purpose of this section, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
CONTRACTOR. Any person, except a licensed architect or registered professional engineer, who in any capacity other than as the employee of another for wages as the sole compensation, undertakes to construct, alter, repair, move, wreck, or demolish any structure. The term includes general contractor, subcontractor or specialty contractor, but does not include a person who furnishes materials or supplies.
SUBCONTRACTOR. Any person who makes an agreement to perform a limited segment of the construction, improvement, repair or remodeling of the premises. This includes agreements with a general contractor or property owner.
(E) Requirements for registration. It shall be unlawful for any person to engage in the business or act in the capacity of a contractor or subcontractor within the town without having registered and submitted the following:
(1) An application form indicating the name, address and legal business status of the contractor/subcontractor to the Building Commission or its designee. If the contractor/subcontractor is a corporation, the name and address of the resident agent is required. Area of expertise shall be stated on the application. The areas of expertise shall include but not be limited to the following:
(a) General contractor;
(b) Carpentry;
(c) Plumbing;
(d) Electrical;
(e) Masonry/tiling;
(f) Concrete;
(g) Heating/cooling/ventilating;
(h) Roofing/siding/insulation/weather protection;
(i) Drywall/plaster;
(j) Mechanical (HVAC);
(k) Excavating;
(l) Demolition;
(m) Flooring, excluding hardwood, laminate, sheet goods and carpeting;
(n) Tree removal/trimming/landscaping; and
(o) Snow removal.
(2) Each contractor or subcontractor shall submit a certificate of insurance in the minimum amounts of $1,000,000 bodily injury and property damage and workers' compensation or State Workman's Comp Waiver (WEC-1) in the maximum amount required by state law.
(3) Each contractor or subcontractor shall submit a permit bond in the amount of $10,000 with The Town of Long Beach listed as the obligee or bondholder and the contractor listed as the principal to provide an assurance that they will comply with the ordinances and regulations of the Town of Long Beach. This bond must be recorded at the LaPorte County Recorder's office before presentation to the town.
(F) Fees, payment; issuance of permits; homeowners.
(1) Upon presentation of the requirements, and provided that the contractor/subcontractor is not otherwise in violation of this or any other town code/ordinance, the Clerk-Treasurer shall furnish the contractor or subcontractor with a registration receipt upon payment of the registration fee of $65.
(2) No person shall engage in the business of contracting or subcontracting in the town without first procuring from the Clerk-Treasurer a receipt evidencing payment of the registration fees prescribed in this division (F). The Building Commission or its designee shall not issue building permits to anyone except a duly registered contractor or subcontractor or his or her duly authorized active officer or agent under the provisions of this chapter.
(3) Building permits shall be granted to actual homeowners who are undertaking to do the work or construction themselves on their own homes or structures on the premises on which they reside without the requirement to register as a contractor or subcontractor.
(4) All contractors or subcontractors seeking to do business under a new or different name shall be required to submit a new application form and pay the initial registration fee. The Commission or its designee may deny the issuance of a new registration until any and all outstanding violations and citations against the contractor or subcontractor have been resolved.
(G) Duration. A registration shall be for a period of one year between January 1 and December 31 of the following year or for the remainder thereof, whichever time is shorter.
(H) Expiration. Upon the expiration of a registration issued under this section, the contractor, subcontractor or specialty contractor will be required to reapply for a new registration. A registrant renewing his or her registration or paying his or her renewal after January 1 of each succeeding year shall be subject to a new registration fee as in division (F) above. When renewing the registration the registrant shall again provide the Clerk-Treasurer a new registration form, a copy of the bond required and a certificate of insurance as specified in division (E) above.
(I) Renewal fees. As long as a registrant pays the registration renewal fee annually on or before December 31, the renewal fee shall be $65.
(J) Violations. Failure to comply with the provisions of this subchapter shall be subject to a fine of $250 for a first violation, a fine of $1,000 for a second violation and a fine of up to $7,500 for a third or subsequent violation.
(K) Non-transferable. No registration issued under the provisions of this subchapter shall be assignable or transferable.
(L) Revocation. The Building Commission or its designee shall have the power to temporarily suspend or permanently revoke the registration of any contractor or subcontractor who the Building Commission or its designee determines to have committed one or more of the following acts or omissions:
(1) Deliberate misrepresentations of any material fact, fraud, or deceit in obtaining a contractor registration;
(2) Gross negligence or gross incompetence while engaged in the business of acting in the capacity of a contractor or subcontractor within the meaning of this section;
(3) Aiding, abetting, or knowingly combining with an unregistered person with the intent to evade the provisions of this section;
(4) Abandonment without legal excuse of any construction project or operation engaged in or undertaken by the registrant as contractor or subcontractor;
(5) Diversion of funds or property received for a specified purpose, and for the purpose and prosecution or completion of any construction project or operation, and the application or use of such funds for any other project or operation, obligation, or purpose with intent to defraud or deceive creditors or the owners;
(6) Violations of the building and zoning laws of the State of Indiana and/or the Town of Long Beach;
(7) Willful departure from or disregard of plans and specifications submitted to the town with a permit application in any material respect;
(8) The doing of any willful or fraudulent act by the registrant as contractor or subcontractor as a consequence of which another is substantially injured;
(9) Failure in any substantial respect to comply with the provisions of this section;
(10) Disregarding a stop work order that has been issued for violation of ordinances or building codes or laws;
(11) Providing false or misleading information on a building or any other permit application or request for a certificate of occupancy; and
(12) Any other reason not set forth herein that the Building Commission or its designee determines justifies a suspension or revocation of a contractor's registration.
(M) Appeal to Town Council. A subcontractor or contractor may appeal a decision of the Building Commission to suspend or revoke said contractor's registration to the Long Beach Town Council by providing written notice to the Town Council within ten days of the Building Commission's decision. The contractor or sub-contractor is prohibited from doing any work in the town of Long Beach until the appeal is decided.
(N) Appeal procedure. The Long Beach Town Council shall be the board authorized to conduct hearings on all appeals.
(1) When a hearing is requested by a contractor, or subcontractor, the suspension or revocation of registration under this subchapter, the Town Council shall set the time and place when such hearing shall be held. The contractor shall be present for such hearing and may be represented by counsel.
(2) At hearing, the Town Council shall determine if a contractor is in violation of the terms of this subchapter and the Town Council shall have the power to suspend such contractor registration for a definite period, to revoke such contractor registration, or to issue an order against such contractor to correct the violation, fixing a reasonable time within which such correction shall be made or accomplished and, upon compliance with such order, the Town Council may dismiss such complaint. If the contractor does not correct such violation within the time required by the previous order, the Town Council shall have the power to extend such time for correction of the violation or shall have the right to suspend such contractor registration for a determinative period or may revoke the contractor registration without any further right to hearing by registrant.
(3) After revocation of any contractor registration, such registration shall not be renewed, and no new contractor registration shall be issued to the same registrant or contractor registration holder within a period of at least one year subsequent to the date of revocation. After the expiration of the one-year period, a contractor registration shall only be issued upon proper documentation showing that all violations, acts, or omissions for which the contractor registration was revoked have been corrected and that compliance with all conditions imposed by the decision of the revocation has been met. The town shall maintain a list of all revocations and suspensions of a contractor registration and which shall be available for public access for a period of four years from the date of suspension or revocation.
(Ord. 2018-02, passed 3-12-18; Am. Ord. 2022-14, passed 11-14-22; Am. Ord. 2023-02, passed 7-10-23)