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Resident complains of unresponsive building inspector over electrical permit; administrator offers to meet
Summary
A resident who said he used the town’s permitting portal to pull an electrical permit said the electrical inspector would not cite the specific code requirements and that responses through the portal have been unhelpful. The town administrator offered an in-person meeting and the council agreed it is an administration issue.
Paul Vadney of 31 Greenwood Street told the council during open forum that he has used the town’s online permitting portal to pull an electrical permit for work on his single-family property but has had trouble getting clear guidance from the electrical inspector.
Vadney said he received messages from the electrical inspector (identified in the transcript as Mr. Bernardino) that his stated price or scope was “too low” and that additional work was required. Vadney said the inspector told him he was not following the law and the code but would not identify which law or code section he needed to follow. Vadney said he met with a staff member, Cody, who helped him obtain a permit, but the inspector continued to indicate further requirements without citation.
Vadney said he submitted a request through the portal and again received no clear citation or explanation. He asked to be placed on a future council agenda if the issue could not be resolved administratively, and he requested a meeting with the town administrator the coming Thursday afternoon to try to resolve the matter before taking it to the council.
The town administrator responded during the meeting that this is an administration-level issue and asked Vadney to reach out to schedule a meeting; the administrator also noted the town is transitioning to the OpenGov permitting system and acknowledged the system can be clumsy during the transition.
Vadney said he was not seeking immediate council action but wanted follow-up and asked that, if the issue remained unresolved, the council put it on a future agenda.
