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Bonita Springs needs to check if it broke any laws in May when the City Council hired a private contractor to perform all of its community development duties.

In Wednesday’s council meeting, City Attorney Audrey Vance will ask the council to get a Florida Attorney General’s opinion on the contract between Bonita Springs and CH2M Hill and any fees the two may charge for building services.

“It is very much to the point about the validity of the whole contract,” Mayor Ben Nelson said. “There’s been so much conversation and discussion ... we need some clarity there just to make sure everyone’s questions get answered.”

The heart of the matter is the fees that will be charged by CH2M Hill. The company has proposed the City Council charge fees for building permits, zoning reviews and other community development services that are quadruple what is charged by Lee County, which was Bonita Springs’ previous community development contractor.

The Lee Building Industry Association and various contractors in the area have objected to CH2M Hill’s proposal for the new fees, and the City Council is expected to rule on the matter in August or September.

The president of the Lee Building Industry Association called the contract between CH2M Hill and the city a sweetheart deal where Bonita pays a lower cost to a contractor for community development services and then the new contractor chargers more to the fee payers.

“What would be a reasonable fee is what Lee County is charging,” said Dennis Cantwell, industry association president.

Florida state law says a community cannot make a profit from its building fees. No one can collect more in fees than what it costs to perform the community development services.

Since CH2M Hill, as a private company, won’t provide its budget to the public, there is no way of knowing if the fees being charged are equal to or less than the costs of running the community development department.

“No one is allowed to make a profit off permit fees; that’s just not allowed,” Nelson said.

The director of the community development department, who is a CH2M Hill employee, could not be reached for comment.

The building industry also objects to the city handing over the building inspection and enforcement to CH2M Hill, which in turn handed off the duties to a private subcontractor.

“In the statute, the city can’t give its enforcement power to an outside agency,” Cantwell said. “They have given this company the enforcement power, and they have hired another company to do the enforcement.”

By bringing in the Florida Attorney General, the city government hopes to clear up these disputes between the building industry and its new contractor and make sure if the City Council is in the clear to impose new building fees.

“The reason for the (attorney general’s opinion) is the council keeps hearing from the building industry about all the problems with the contract,” Vance said.