Council backs drafting MOU for shared building-department services with Warren

The Bristol Town Council on Sept. 10 authorized the administration and solicitors to draft a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Town of Warren to share building-department services following the retirement of Bristol’s full-time building official, Steve Greenleaf.

Town staff explained that Bristol currently uses Warren’s building official as an alternate and proposed a shared-services arrangement in which Warren would provide a certified building official (CBO) while Bristol hires an inspector and a part-time code compliance officer. The arrangement is intended to let a locally based inspector do day-to-day fieldwork and allow the CBO to supervise, train and certify a Bristol official over time. The proposed MOU would run a six-month trial period before extending or modifying the arrangement.

The council asked about inspection backlog and service timeliness. Administration said there was no current backlog; plan reviews are forthcoming and the shared-service arrangement would free the CBO to be more available for field inspections. The Council asked that the MOU return to the council for review; the Warren council had already approved the concept subject to solicitor review. Motion: authorize drafting an MOU with Warren for shared building-department services on a trial basis; motion made by Mary, seconded by Tony; vote: all in favor.

Why it matters: many municipalities face a shortage of certified building officials; the shared-services approach aims to maintain permitting and inspection capacity while providing on-the-job certification and local presence for long-term staffing.