# Building Inspector resigns



## mark handler (Jun 13, 2015)

Former County Building Inspector resigns because he says inspectors are given too many jobs

Claims he was assigned 91 inspections in one day

Adam Walser

 Jun 12, 2015

http://www.abcactionnews.com/news/local-news/i-team-investigates/former-county-building-inspector-resigns-because-he-says-inspectors-are-given-too-many-jobs

Building inspectors are assigned to inspect the buildings where we live, work and visit to make sure they are safe.

But a Hillsborough County building inspector says that huge workloads and limited resources in the County Building Inspections Department could be putting local residents in danger.

The inspector says he resigned after being assigned 91 building inspections in one day.

Now he's telling Hillsborough County Commissioners and the public that big changes are needed.

When each new building goes up in unincorporated Hillsborough County, county building inspectors are required to inspect and sign off on building, mechanical, plumbing and electrical work.

“We're guarding the public health, welfare and safety,” said Benjamin Buckley, who resigned as a building inspector in late April.

Buckley tells the I-Team a big building boom means inspectors often aren't given the time to do their jobs.

“In order to get it done, you just have to pass things without actually looking at them thoroughly,” Buckley said.

In the resignation letter Buckley sent commissioners, he said he and his colleagues have been working under poor conditions.

“We were given too may inspections to do each day,” he said.

Buckley said that while the national average inspection rate is between 12 to 16 inspections per day per inspector, he was actually assigned 91 inspections one day last October.

“Just the fact that having 91 inspections, we were left with the decision of which inspections not to do,” Buckley said.

When inspectors can't get to those inspections, jobs have to be rolled over to the next day, then the next.

“Some of the inspections would get rolled three days,” he said.

It's a problem the county has been aware of for more than two years.

In an audit report obtained by the I-Team, it indicated that during a 15-month period ending in June 2012, inspectors averaged more than 19 inspections per work day.

The insurance services office, or ISO, which rates communities for insurance risks, recommends 10 inspections per day.

“Property insurance companies, they run studies on local building department, and part of their rates are based on performance,” Buckley said.

Building inspection records the I-Team obtained for the first four months of this year showed inspectors averaged 26 inspections per day, more than two-and-a-half times the recommended level.

“If we want to have good insurance rates and back up our housing and keep our community healthy, it's good to do these inspections properly,” Buckley said.

We reached out to county officials and they said they would have to further research Buckley's claims and planned to get back to us next week.

His resignation letter was sent to the department and commissioners 50 days ago.

If you have a story you think the I-Team should investigate, contact us at adam@abcactionnews.com .


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## Inspector Gift (Jun 15, 2015)

Good for inspector Buckley!  ...And also to ABCActionNews (I Team) for investigating and reporting the problem.


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## ICE (Jun 15, 2015)

How are they counting the inspections?  I count each address as an inspection.  Some inspectors count each permit at each address as an inspection.  For some inspectors framing and all the roughs counts as four but in reality it is one inspection.  I get 8 to 18 each day.  It has been slow for years.

No matter how you count them, 91 is ridiculous.  I work with inspectors that flat out refuse to do more than 10.  If they get more than ten they just don't get them all done.


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## mtlogcabin (Jun 15, 2015)

For some inspectors framing and all the roughs counts as four..... That is how I count them for determining manpower needs

but in reality it is one inspection....... That is how I count them for the ISO reports since ISO deems 10 per day as a good average number and will not ding a department for that amount


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## fatboy (Jun 15, 2015)

I count the stops, just this year started tracking multi-family per unit as individual stops, didn't have any action on MF the last few years, so was not an issue. Now my guys are doing 4-8 units at each stop........so I count the units for tracking. We are averaging about 14 stops each inspector, per day. 91? Depends on how you are counting them......


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## JBI (Jun 15, 2015)

So for an 8 hour day (and most local officials are actually on a 7 1/2 hour work day anymore) that'd be just shy of 11 1/2 inspections per hour or one every 5 minutes (more or less) and that would need to include drive time.

I'm thinking no reasonable person would deem that acceptable.

But we are talking about 'elected officials' who determine staffing, and few of them are 'reasonable' in my experience...


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## ICE (Jun 15, 2015)

This entire story could be a bunch of BS.  If it is true then there is more to the story.



> The insurance services office, or ISO, which rates communities for insurance risks, recommends 10 inspections per day.


A guy with a pencil came up with that.



> Building inspection records the I-Team obtained for the first four months of this year showed inspectors averaged 26 inspections per day, more than two-and-a-half times the recommended level.


Now that guy with the pencil is the expert.


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## Sifu (Jun 16, 2015)

I have 47 inspections today, 32 stops.  A little ridiculous.  The earliest I can start inspections is around 9:00am.  Many of them are rough frames which obviously take more time.


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## steveray (Jun 16, 2015)

Sifu said:
			
		

> I have 47 inspections today, 32 stops.  A little ridiculous.  The earliest I can start inspections is around 9:00am.  Many of them are rough frames which obviously take more time.


And I thought my life sucked!....If I could walk in and say failed and walk away, I don't think I could get that many done...


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## mtlogcabin (Jun 16, 2015)

The paper work sometimes takes just as long or longer to complete then the actual inspection.

If memory serves me correctly, the grand jury that looked into the aftermath of Hurricane and Dade counties code enforcement practices is why the ISO started rating building departments.

When evaluating code enforcement, the Grand Jury noted that "the effectiveness of this community's building inspection process has been questionable for decades, " subject to "corruption, at worst, and apathy, at best" (p. 10). Previous grand juries, in 1975 and 1989, had criticized the manner and adequacy of Dade County's building inspections, but the system had not been not fundamentally changed despite these findings.

In order to improve construction practices and ensure compliant practices, the Grand Jury made many recommendations. One was that the insurance industry should not remain a passive participant but should play an active role by linking insurance premiums to construction practices, code content, code enforcement, and mitigation practices of homeowners, specifically the use or nonuse of hurricane shutters. The Grand Jury believed that the involvement of the insurance industry would overcome an ingrained problem in the building inspection process which permitted the construction industry to regulate itself.

http://www.colorado.edu/hazards/publications/wp/wp96.html


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## ICE (Jun 16, 2015)

Sifu said:
			
		

> I have 47 inspections today, 32 stops.  A little ridiculous.  The earliest I can start inspections is around 9:00am.  Many of them are rough frames which obviously take more time.


That's too many for two inspectors.  I have 17 stops today.

6 solar.

1 water heater.

3 framing and all of the roughs.

5 re-roofs.

1 HVAC.

1 investigation.

Two of the frame and all the roughs will take some time because I will be looking at corrections from previous inspections.  There are 19 at one and 17 at the other.  All told there are 56 corrections to check today.  Not too bad and I should be done by 3:00.


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## mark handler (Jun 16, 2015)

In addition to building department inspections Our inspectors also do business license, occupancy inspections


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## ICE (Jun 16, 2015)

mark handler said:
			
		

> In addition to building department inspections Our inspectors also do business license, occupancy inspections


It's the same here.  We also do code enforcement inspections related to complaints.


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## mark handler (Jun 16, 2015)

We do Some "code enforcement inspections" And we "assist" our enforcement officers.


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## JBI (Jun 16, 2015)

The majority of NYS Code Offices do it all, exceptions for urban centers and high population communities like (most of) Long Island.

Typically one person reviews plans, issues permits, conducts construction inspections, conducts periodic Fire and Life Safety inspections, issues operating permits, and does complaints. Toss in Zoning duties, maybe some Planning Board stuff... Well, you get the picture (too bad the elected don't..).


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