President Englinger opened a discussion at the Sept. 9 Hampshire County Commission meeting on an unexpected gap in building inspection coverage after the county's contracted provider lost the inspector who served Hampshire County. Commissioner Mance, who reported the planning commission's deliberations, said the contracted firm MDIA "is no longer going to be able to provide inspection services here in the county."

The planning office considered three options and recommended a short-term, part-time county hire while it posts for a full-time inspector. "They're going to do a 60-day temporary hire while they post for the full time position, and bring an employee in house," Mance said, adding the agency can certify an existing code officer, Jared Hott, under state law if needed to fill the gap.

The planning staff told commissioners the change is likely to be revenue-positive for the county because inspection fees that previously went to the external contractor will instead be collected by the county. "Under each of those options, we would retain more revenue here within the county," Mance said, noting the office is already reviewing software upgrades and other services to use the additional revenue.

Commissioners stressed avoiding any lapse in coverage because missed inspections could delay building projects and contractors. Mance said the contracted provider's service is tentatively scheduled to end at the end of the month and that the planning commission will present a budget modification request to the commission once numbers are finalized. He emphasized the planning office believes the part-time hire will be adequate given the county's inspection demand but said the office could expand the position to full time later if workload requires it.

No formal action was taken; commissioners asked to be kept informed and were told the planning office does not currently require an immediate appropriation beyond the planned accounting changes that will be brought as a budget modification.

Implementation details and next steps: the planning commission will post the full-time position, hire a temporary part-time employee (authorized under the county employee manual), and return with any budget modification for formal approval.