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Council weighs sending building permits to Summit County as debate over department performance and revenues intensifies
Summary
Councilors, the mayor and department heads debated a charter change that would eliminate the city building department and contract permit/plan-review functions to Summit County, with extensive discussion of permit revenue, rental-registration funding, service speed and recent staff turnover.
Barberton councilors spent a lengthy portion of the May 19 committee meetings debating whether the city should keep its building department or move permitting and plan review to Summit County.
Advocates for contracting said private contractors and neighboring county services often provide faster online permitting and virtual inspections; residents and some council members recounted long waits for local electrical or plumbing inspections. “Can you imagine coming in? I mean, so we're trying to do away with that and make that kind of stuff easier,” Public Service Director Derek Shreve said while listing digital plan submittal improvements the department is pursuing.
The mayor and the building department pushed back, citing revenue the department generates. The mayor…
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