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Lake County building services reports steady permit work, highlights damage assessments and software upgrades
Summary
Building Services director Bill Ondelich told commissioners the office processed thousands of permits and inspections last year, is completing substantial-damage flood assessments, and is budgeting for software and vehicle purchases while reducing outsourced plan review.
Bill Ondelich, director of the Office of Building Services, told Lake County commissioners at the May 22 budget workshop that his office issued a high volume of permits and inspections last year while moving to reduce outsourcing and improve online services.
Ondelich said the office issued roughly 17,000 permits, handled almost 10,000 in-person customers, and recorded 57,000 phone calls in the prior year. He said plan review and inspection work included roughly 79,000 inspections and nearly 13,000 code-compliance reviews. "I consider that close to spectacular," Ondelich said of the plan-review turnaround times.
The presentation stressed three near-term priorities: completing substantial-damage determinations after recent flooding, advancing a replacement permitting software package, and continuing staff cross-training to reduce bottlenecks. Ondelich said the office surveyed 945 properties as part of a damage-assessment effort and, working with Public Works' floodplain administrator, identified 15 properties that received letters instructing owners on next steps. He said staff are "currently in the midst of working with the people that receive the letters." Commissioners asked whether the county has a designated floodplain manager who signs determination letters; Ondelich said the licensing investigator works with the floodplain administrator to make those calls.
On technology, Ondelich said online forms have been updated to be ADA-accessible and fillable, and the office is evaluating OpenCounter and Q Flow software to reduce staff time answering basic planning, zoning and permitting questions. The office reported eliminating most outsourced plan review by relying on in-house contract reviewers as workload allows, while keeping external contract examiners on call.
Budget highlights presented included: total revenues down about 0.6% driven by permit-fee decreases; personnel increases tied to wage adjustments, certified staff additions and insurance; operating expense decreases from lower software-consultant spending; and capital outlay appropriations for permitting-software implementation and new vehicles.
Commissioners and staff discussed inspection coverage and same-day reinspection practices. Ondelich described Lake County's mix of mostly residential work (roughly 85–90%) versus neighboring counties with more commercial construction, and said inspectors are cross-trained to reduce multi-inspector site visits. He also said the department fields same‑day inspections for calls made by a morning cutoff and that inspectors will sometimes accommodate later rechecks when operationally feasible.
