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Howard County inspections, licenses and permits holds steady budget; eyes on vacant positions and online permitting
Summary
Director Bob Francis briefed the Council on the Department of Inspections, Licenses and Permits (DILP) FY26 operating request, highlighting small budget growth, cost savings from contractual changes, new online services and concerns about three frozen positions that could slow plan review and inspections.
Bob Francis, director of Howard County's Department of Inspections, Licenses and Permits, told the County Council at a fiscal year 2026 budget work session that his department's operating request for FY26 increased by 2.04% from FY25 and includes no new funding requests for new programs.
Francis said DILP saved the county about $350,000 annually by ending a legacy transaction-fee arrangement with its credit card processor and by terminating maintenance contracts on an end-of-life data system. The department is testing and rolling out several online tools: a text/IVR inspection scheduler, a commercial mechanical HVAC permitting program, planned online submittals for rental-housing licensing renewals, and an online portal to replace a legacy system slated to reach end of life by the end of calendar 2025.
Francis briefed council members on staffing and service metrics. He noted that about 25% of plan submissions are returned for revision and that DILP engages with architects and neighboring jurisdictions to reduce resubmissions. He described permit technicians as “the face of our organization,” assisting applicants with electronic submissions and routing plan sets to the appropriate reviewers. On inspections availability, Francis said electrical inspections are the most in-demand category and sometimes book out two or three days; the department monitors daily request queues and uses overtime when necessary.
Council members pressed Francis about three frozen positions (one electrical inspector and two regulation support technician 2 positions—one in licensing and permits and one in plan review). Francis said the frozen electrical-inspector slot contributes to daily pressure in electrical inspection scheduling but that the department has not yet hit a “critical mass” of delay. He and staff said vacancies have been a recurring challenge and that recruiting and filling positions (especially inspectors) can take months.
The department also noted internal promotions and recent staff honors: Sedonia Garrett was elected president of the Maryland Building Officials Association and Deborah Whelan elected secretary; Don Mock serves in national code committees. Francis said DILP plans to adopt the 2024 International Code Council model codes in 2026 and to implement an online rental-license renewal and portal to reduce paper submissions and resubmittals.
Ending: Francis summarized that DILP seeks to preserve its current level of services while implementing digital tools to improve throughput and that the key near-term risks are the frozen inspection and permit-technical positions and the incoming legacy-systems transition slated for late 2025.
