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St. Louis building division seeks more inspectors, boosts demolition funding as tornado recovery continues
Summary
The Building Division told the Budget Committee May 7 it needs more inspectors and new customer‑service and lead‑program managers to clear permit backlogs and accelerate demolitions tied to tornado damage. Staff say chronic understaffing — about 62 vacancies — and long permit review times are constraining enforcement and recovery work.
Acting Building Commissioner Tim Jeff and his leadership team told the Budget and Public Employees Committee on May 7 that the city’s Building Division faces persistent staffing shortages while preparing for a surge in tornado‑related demolitions and code enforcement work.
Deputy Building Commissioner Dylan Moser said the division’s permit and inspection budget totals roughly $32 million, and that the division requested funding for 217 full‑time positions but currently has about 150 active employees. “We are currently at 62 vacancies,” Moser said, and he warned that roughly half those vacancies are among front‑line inspectors, which makes it difficult to keep up with permit review and enforcement workloads.
Why it matters: aldermen pressed staff on…
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