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Seymour budgets for 2026 state building code, highlights blight enforcement revenue
Summary
At a Seymour budget workshop, the building compliance director outlined a $336,623 departmental budget that adds funds for 2026 Connecticut building-code materials, a $20,000 1099 inspector, and said online permitting produced roughly $495,000 in revenue; officials noted about $300,000 in blight-related amounts remain under collection.
Jim Baldwin, introduced by the chair as Mr. Baldwin and identified later in discussion as the director of land use and code compliance, presented the building compliance budget at the town’s budget workshop.
Baldwin told the board that Connecticut will adopt the 2026 state building code in July and the department added a $3,000 line item to purchase updated code books and regulations. “We have to anticipate purchase of all the new code books, regulations and so on that we'll need to have in the office,” he said.
He described the department as fully staffed with four full-time employees and said the budget includes a $20,000 1099 inspector position to handle increased project volume. “We have an additional inspector that helps us out and we're anticipating using that position more this year due to the volume and the nature of some of the projects that are going on in Seymour,” Baldwin said.
Baldwin detailed operating lines: $2,500 for mandated Connecticut training and professional association dues, $4,000 for in-house printing and binding, $500 for travel and mileage, and $15,000 for department-specific legal counsel to support land-use boards and blight enforcement actions.
He reported the department’s 12-month actual receipts since moving permitting online via OpenGov totaled about $495,000. Baldwin said blight enforcement has produced significant revenue and that roughly $300,000 in blight infractions remain on the books but are subject to court processing and delayed collection. “Those all don't get collected right away because they have to be processed through the court,” he said.
Board members pressed staff on an apparent discrepancy in the mechanical inspector line, which shows $20,000 with no percentage change from the prior year. Baldwin and other staff acknowledged the historical figures were recorded differently in prior budgets and committed to review earlier documents and correct the percentage-change calculation or reassign the prior-year figure where appropriate.
The board had additional questions about the elimination of a contracted town planner and the reassignment of those duties to a zoning enforcement officer and town engineer; Baldwin said that reorganization reduced contracted costs and consolidated enforcement responsibilities.
The meeting produced no public comments on the item; staff will return with any requested clarifications and corrected budget figures at a future workshop.
