Board approves roughly $220,000 in supplements for planning and inspections to hire and boost salaries

Caroline County planning staff asked the board for supplemental appropriations to expand planning and inspections capacity and to raise advertised starting salaries for two difficult-to-fill certified positions.

Planning leadership told supervisors that the county has an extensive pipeline of work — referenced in the discussion as roughly $2,000,000,000 of building project value currently in plan review or under contract — and that recruitment for certified combination plan reviewers and combination building inspectors has been slow. To attract qualified applicants, staff proposed advertising the two existing positions at higher salary steps (up to roughly $87,000 and $76,000 respectively), and adding two new positions: a code enforcement inspector (starting up to about $53,545) and an administrative assistant (starting up to about $41,428). Staff estimated the total additional cost for these measures at just under $220,000, funded from the undesignated general fund balance.

Supervisors pressed staff on fee adjustments and internal compression (the effect of higher starting salaries on existing employees). Staff said they are researching fee schedule updates and will advocate internally for adjustments to preserve internal pay equity. A motion to approve the supplemental appropriations for planning and inspections carried on a voice vote.

What this means: The county will invest in planning and inspections capacity now to reduce review delays and better process rising numbers of commercial and residential projects; staff also will pursue fee adjustments to better align revenue and service costs.