St. Louis building division warns staffing shortfalls, rising demo and short‑term‑rental workloads

The City of St. Louis Building Division told the Board of Aldermen’s Budget and Public Employees Committee on May 7 that it is operating below requested staffing levels while shouldering new duties including a short‑term rental program temporarily restrained by a court.

The division’s leader, Building Commissioner Ed Ware, outlined the department’s responsibilities and staffing shortfalls. “My name is Ed Ware. I’m the building commissioner for the city of St. Louis,” Ware said, and then described a department of about “170 active employees” spread across 14–15 sections including inspections, trades, plan exam, permitting, zoning, a short‑term rental unit and demolition work.

The lack of staff contributed to a plan‑review backlog that Ware said he inherited and is rebuilding: the plan exam section had fallen to a single examiner before recent hires, and Ware said he has rehired a chief plan examiner and is interviewing candidates to restore the prior staff level. Deputy Commissioner Dylan Mosier said the division requested a recruitment pay adjustment for senior plan examiners “to bump that up to just under 65,000,” but that request was denied during the budget process.

Why it matters: inadequate plan review and inspector staffing slows projects for builders and residents, and increases pressure on other city services. Commissioners and aldermen repeatedly raised concerns…