Date: Fri 15-Sep-1995

Publication: Bee

Author: KAAREN

Quick Words:

building-inspector-selectmen

Full Text:

Selectmen Vote To Hire Another Building Inspector

B Y K AAREN V ALENTA

The Board of Selectman Monday night approved, 2-1, the hiring of an assistant

building inspector to try to catch up on the increasing backlog of inspections

by the town's building department.

"In the last 60-day period there have been more than 60 new home starts,"

First Selectman Bob Cascella said. "There are many projects planned like the

renovations of Town Hall South, the expanion of the Booth Library, the

schools, the sewer treatment plant, an exposition center in Hawleyville and a

500,000 square foot building that is being proposed for Edmond Road."

Mr Cascella said the town has been unable to find a consultant willing to work

part-time as an assistant building official to replace the one who left last

year for a full-time position elsewhere. The $28,000 needed to pay the new

employee for this budget year would be transferred from the budget line

account currently used to pay professional consultants. The transfer must be

approved by Legislative Council.

"I've allowed the building department to close one afternoon a week to try to

catch up on review of plans, but we just can't keep up with the current

workload," Mr Cascella explained. "Closing the office makes us not user

friendly. People take time off from work and come to Town Hall South only to

find the office is closed on Thursday afternoon."

He said the proposed full-time position as an assistant building inspector

would carry an annual salary of $38,000 plus benefits and would be pro-rated

for the rest of this budget year which ends June 30, 1996. He said the

position pays less than the $46,000 plus benefits which the department's other

assistant building official earns.

Selectman Gary Fetzer voted against the motion because he said the town should

not be so accommodating to residential development. He said that within five

years there will be an enormous burden on town services because of the

building boom.

"The town is getting over-built," he said. "We are losing our soul."

Mr Cascella said the town cannot put a moratorium on building. He said that by

state law the town's building department must do plan reviews and inspections

within a specific amount of time.