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Boonville moves to create full‑time fire and building inspector role as state steps back
Summary
City officials proposed and the board approved creating a full‑time fire/building inspector position to handle annual commercial inspections and enforce local fire-code ordinances after state inspection responsibilities were reduced; the change includes salary and ordinance development and may impose fees for repeat false alarms.
The board approved moving forward with a full‑time fire and building inspector position after department staff outlined gaps left when state inspection responsibilities were curtailed.
Fire staff told the board that roughly 1,100 commercial occupancies in the city and Boone Township require annual inspection and that the current inspection program — largely done by one firefighter working 24‑hour shifts — is insufficient. The proposed position would be a Monday–Friday role responsible for fire‑ and life‑safety code inspections, maintaining pre‑plans, and coordinating on major incidents. The staffing plan includes hiring an additional firefighter to backfill the inspector’s shift responsibilities.
Officials said the city is preparing ordinances that would allow assessment of fees for excessive false alarms (the draft follows a common model allowing three free alarms per year before fees apply for repeat activations of the same sensor). The proposal also bundles the building‑inspection function into the role so the city would perform its own building inspections rather than rely on state inspections.
Council members asked about costs, dual‑role feasibility and how emergency responses would be handled if the inspector were in the office; staff said the inspector would not be an on‑call firefighter but would be available to respond in specific large‑scale incidents as needed. The measure was approved by motion; staff will introduce the requisite ordinances and address salary classification in the upcoming salary ordinance update.
