City staff seeks to realign building‑safety and inspections to report to city manager

City staff presented an ordinance (first reading) to realign reporting for building safety and inspections so the division reports directly to the city manager while fire marshals remain under the fire chief.

Staff said the previous ordinance had code enforcement and building inspections reporting under the fire chief, which created misalignment because those employees are not civil‑service fire employees. The presenter said the change would redistribute duties after a recent vacancy and avoid hiring a new full‑time employee by spreading responsibilities across current staff with corresponding grade and title adjustments. “For efficiency and making sure we're operating under the same guidelines, it would make sense to put [building safety and maintenance] down directly under me instead of putting them under another organization,” the staff member said.

Staff added that no additional code‑enforcement staff or building inspectors would be required and that funding would come from existing operational budgets; one staff salary (Jason Brown) had previously been paid from the fire department budget. The presenter recommended placing the reclassification and the ordinance on the next council agenda and requested immediate consideration of the ordinance so the council could act sooner.

Why it matters: The change affects departmental reporting lines, internal controls and how building safety and code enforcement are managed day to day. Council members asked clarifying questions about job titles, grading and whether the changes would increase costs.

Next steps: Staff will bring the position reclassification and the ordinance to the next council agenda with supporting documentation on titles, grades and budget impact.