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Council reviews options for inspections department after county declines takeover
Summary
Council materials referenced G.S. 160D-1102 and noted Beaufort County officials indicated they were not interested in assuming the city’s inspections services; staff proposed promoting a Building Inspector III to Chief Building Official, converting an Inspector I to part-time, and moving floodplain duties into Planning & Zoning.
City staff told the council during the April 27 budget workshop that state statute G.S. 160D-1102 allows several local options for delivering building code and inspection services, including creating a municipal inspection department, forming a joint department, contracting with another unit of government, or arranging for the county to perform inspection services.
The meeting materials reported that Beaufort County’s manager indicated the County Board of Commissioners was not interested in assuming Washington’s inspection services. Given that response, staff proposed internal restructuring: promote the vacant Building Inspector III to Chief Building Official, convert a Building Inspector I to a part-time position, eliminate an administrative support specialist, and move floodplain and compliance responsibilities into the Planning & Zoning budget. Staff also proposed updating permit fees to align with Building Valuation Data and International Building Code valuation methods.
Why it matters: changes to inspection staffing and fee structures affect permit processing times, review capacity, and fee revenues. Staff noted the city does not currently have the workload to support four full inspections positions, which prompted the proposed conversions and promotions.
Attribution: the meeting minutes reference G.S. 160D-1102 and state the county manager’s position; the minutes do not record a direct county speaker at the meeting. Staff staffing proposals were presented in the budget packet for council consideration.
