Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Building Department topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Public foreman warns closing building department would harm enforcement as council advances removal to rules
Summary
A city foreman’s letter urged Council not to eliminate the Building Department. Council floor votes advanced the proposal to remove the Division of Building Inspections from the public-service department and relocate property maintenance and zoning inspections to Planning; the measures now go to Rules Committee for drafting.
A letter from city Street Department general foreman Kyle Breeding warned Barberton City Council on June 9 that eliminating the Building Department would “have far more harmful consequences” for inspections and property-maintenance enforcement, and urged council to reconsider.
The letter was read into the record during the regular meeting after committee sessions. Breeding described his eight years as a property-maintenance inspector and said removing the local building commissioner would weaken enforcement and slow permitting, legal proceedings and neighborhood improvements.
Why it matters: Council debated a proposed reorganization in which the Division of Building Inspections would be removed from the Department of Public Service and property-maintenance and zoning-inspection functions would be shifted to the Planning Department. That reorganization was one of several charter-committee items that passed on the floor and will be drafted by the Rules Committee for future consideration.
Council action and context: In the floor votes earlier in the evening, councilmembers approved a motion to strike the subsection describing the Division of Building Inspections from the public-service section of the charter and to add language moving a division of property maintenance and zoning inspection into the Planning Department. The vote to strike the Division of Building Inspections passed by a 5–3 margin; the companion motion to create the division within Planning also passed 5–3.
Councilmembers and staff highlighted fiscal and legal considerations during the exchanges. Councilmember Gerhardt asked for additional information about revenue loss and operational consequences; staff noted the item was being forwarded so the Rules Committee and staff could draft precise language and analyze impacts (including potential revenue and enforcement changes) before any final charter change is placed before voters.
Ending: The public comment and the floor votes mean the proposed elimination of the Division of Building Inspections and reassignment of property-maintenance duties will be drafted and studied by the Rules Committee. No operational change will occur until the council adopts finalized charter language and, if required, the electorate approves it.
