Manville development services asks council for building official, engineers, GIS tech and $72,000 AI review tool

Development Services Director Joe told the Manville City Council at a July 14 workshop that his department is asking the council to fund four new positions and a web‑based, AI‑driven plan‑review service to speed reviews and reduce outsourced costs.

The request includes a building official, a graduate engineer, an engineering technician and a GIS technician; Joe said the department is also asking for $72,000 annually for an AI review service. He said the personnel and software requests (not including benefits) total $352,000. “We’re requesting building official, graduate engineer position, engineer technician position, and the GIS technician position,” Joe said.

Why it matters: Development‑service capacity affects the city’s ability to process permits, inspect work and support larger commercial projects as Manville grows. Council members repeatedly pressed staff for data showing how the hires and the $72,000 subscription would change current costs and service levels.

Most important details - Current arrangement: Building and inspection work is provided under contract by SafeBuilt, which Joe said has supplied plan review and inspection services since 2020 and provides a pool of qualified officials and inspectors. Joe said SafeBuilt supplies the city with multiple inspectors and at times the outsourced service reduces peaks and staffing risk. - Cost and utilization: Council members cited an outsourcing bill of about $500,000 for inspections in the most recent fiscal year and roughly 19,567 inspections that year; Joe and councilmembers discussed prior years’ inspection volumes (roughly 14,000 and 16,000 in earlier years and about 21,000 in 2021–22) when weighing whether bringing inspections in‑house would save money. - Stepwise approach: Joe characterized hiring an in‑house building official as the first step to “map” how to bring more review and inspection work in‑house over time, not an immediate replacement of all contracted services. He said the official would handle larger or complex reviews and help design the transition plan. - GIS and daily workload: Joe said GIS duties are currently handled by one staff member (Chen) and that daily tasks — preparing maps for zoning notices, emergency response, data requests from other departments and website map maintenance — justify a second GIS hire. - Master plans and projects: Joe outlined ongoing work including a comprehensive plan and major thoroughfare plan amendment (workshops planned, with adoption targeted in coming months), development map/GIS improvements, a street‑sign inventory with Public Works, and grant applications to TxDOT and the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department.

Council questions and concerns Council members repeatedly asked for more analysis before approving the requests. The mayor said he was “very interested to see what the ROI would be” on the AI subscription, noting it would require training against the city’s building standards. Councilman Oplager asked whether the proposed building official would need a vehicle; Joe said the department has a vehicle available for staff use and would consider the need.

On inspections, Councilwoman Sarmiento pressed for billing details and asked whether the city had tracked re‑inspections (failed first inspections) as part of a cost analysis. Joe said the department does not have the re‑inspection failure percentage immediately available and that the building official would be tasked with producing a plan and metrics to evaluate an in‑house transition.

Quotes “We’re requesting building official, graduate engineer position, engineer technician position, and the GIS technician position,” Joe said. “I’d be very interested to see what the ROI would be on that,” the mayor said of the AI subscription. “The building…would they not need their own vehicle as well?” Councilman Oplager asked.

Discussion vs. decision All items in Joe’s presentation were described as requests and discussion points. No hiring, contracts or budget approvals were adopted at the workshop. Council members asked staff to follow up with cost/benefit analysis and implementation plans ahead of the formal budget process.

Context and next steps Joe said hiring a building official would allow the city to be more proactive on complex projects and improve coordination with Public Works, Planning and Finance. Staff will provide follow‑up data — including a more detailed ROI estimate for the AI review tool, a breakdown of current SafeBuilt inspection staffing and costs, and potential phased staffing scenarios — to inform the upcoming budget decisions.

Ending note Council members thanked Joe and asked staff to return with the requested financial metrics during the budget process so the council can consider phased hiring and a potential reduction in outsourced inspection costs.