Syracuse City budget hearing: permit surge, rental‑registry gaps and push to restore third‑party plan‑review funding

Syracuse City held a budget hearing for the Department of Neighborhood and Business Development’s Code Enforcement division, where staff said rising permit volume and large commercial projects have strained in‑house plan‑review capacity and prompted a request to restore third‑party review funding.

Jake Dishaw, who led the department presentation, told councilors the city issues about "4,000 permits total a year" and said construction valuation has climbed to record levels. "We broke an all time high in 2022, 2024, and last year in 2025 at over 430,000,000 in construction dollars spent in the city of Syracuse," Dishaw said, adding that outside reviewers shortened turnaround from weeks or months to days or weeks for major projects.

Dishaw asked councilors to reinstate part of the third‑party plan‑review budget the department reduced last year. "We're asking that this be put back into the budget for a number of reasons," he said, arguing third‑party reviewers let the city process dozens of large commercial filings quickly; since 2024–25 the department has used third‑party reviewers for about 105 large commercial economic‑development projects.

Why it matters: staff said internal capacity for highly technical plan reviews is limited and hiring qualified plan reviewers has been difficult. Council members pressed for numbers about how much third‑party review increases project value and requested a follow‑up reconciliation of position counts between the city payroll and SIRRA lines.

Revenue and fees: Dishaw told the council the division is "almost self‑sustaining" and projected FY26 expenses of about $5.6 million versus roughly $5.3 million in revenue. He said the department has not revised its building‑permit fee schedule since 1996 and plans to propose updates, including new zoning fees that could bring in "hundreds of thousands" in revenue.

Rental registry and enforcement: Dishaw said rental‑registry compliance has hovered near 50 percent. He described enforcement tools—mailing notices, administrative fines that can roll to the tax roll and seeking administrative warrants through the law department for entry when necessary—but warned the law office’s capacity limits how many warrants the city can pursue. "A lot of times it's a human kinda interaction between the tenant and landlord, and we're stuck in the middle," he said.

Lead hazard work and grants: Deputy Commissioner Michelle Sapanski explained the department’s lead program and the role of grant‑funded positions. She said inspectors issue surface and lead‑related citations and that property owners in high‑risk areas must submit third‑party dust‑wipe testing for clearance. Since the lead ordinance’s enforcement began, staff reported nearly 10,000 lead or deteriorated‑paint violations at more than 4,000 properties, with about 80 percent addressed and closed.

Other line items and operations: Councilors raised several operational questions. Staff confirmed a $750,000 demolition line for emergency and fire‑related teardown cases and explained that when contractors mow privately owned vacant lots or perform emergency takedowns, billing often goes to property owners and may appear later on the tax roll rather than as department operating revenue. Councilors also flagged a small postage line and late mailings for hearing notices; Dishaw said staff would examine mailing timing and suggested a customer‑relationship management system could improve outreach.

Personnel: Staff confirmed the director of zoning has resigned (last day tomorrow) and that two lead positions are moving to grant funding for now; Dishaw cautioned that if grant funding ends the positions would return to the city budget.

What’s next: staff agreed to reconcile payroll counts between SIRRA and the city lines, provide requested line‑item clarifications, and bring a proposed fee schedule and zoning fees to council engagement before implementation. The hearing adjourned after the department’s presentation.