MAHONING COUNTY Building inspections review nears end

A state official needs one more meeting with commissioners to complete his review of the department.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Mahoning County commissioners expect to know soon whether the Ohio Department of Commerce will recommend changes in the way the county building inspection department operates.
Commissioners asked the state in January to review the building inspection department policies, procedures and records. An investigator for the state Board of Building Standards is conducting the review, said Thomas Ratcliff, a spokesman for the department of commerce.
The building inspection department came under fire in 2000 and 2001 when The Vindicator reported it had not fully inspected many new homes built under its jurisdiction in 1999. A review by the newspaper showed that 80 percent of homes built that year did not have all four required structural inspections.Earlier this year, the newspaper reported that many newly constructed or expanded commercial facilities, including portions of public school buildings, had been in use for more than a year before being approved for occupancy.
The investigator, Michael Brady, has visited the county several times but still hasn't gleaned all the information he needs to generate his final report, Ratcliff said.
He said Brady needs one more meeting with commissioners. Brady is in Argentina and unavailable to comment.
"It's an evolutionary process," Ratcliff said, noting that Brady is examining the department's past and current practices but must also find out where commissioners want to see it go in the future.
Review, not investigation: Ratcliff stressed that Brady is conducting a through review of the department's operation so he can recommend improvements, not an investigation into any alleged misconduct.
County Administrator Gary Kubic said commissioners are anxious to have a final meeting with Brady and get the review completed.
"We want to see his report," Kubic said. "If he is making serious recommendations for change, we want to do that. If we have to deal with employee issues, we will deal with them."
Kubic said he doesn't think Brady has uncovered any "major gaps of nonperformance" at the department.
Recent changes: He said commissioners have already implemented some changes on their own, including installation of a computer system.
Until recently, inspection records were kept on paper, which commissioners said was inefficient. The department bought computers in 1998 but did not have the software needed for an electronic record-keeping system.
Chief building official Don C. Hall was suspended for a week in March because commissioners didn't think he was moving quickly enough to get the computers up and running.
Hall said the system is in place and his staff is learning how to use it. Clerks are entering data from past years as well as current records, he said.
"There's quite a lot of work to do, but we're getting there," Hall said.
Computerization will improve the department's ability to track each job, though Hall said it's up to the contractors to notify the county when an inspection is needed.
He said the department doesn't have a large enough staff to visit each job site every day and monitor its progress, though workers are trying harder to do that.
Some contractors still don't comply with getting a final inspection, and Hall said the department is taking steps to correct that.
Those who are found in violation are sent a letter and given 30 days to request an inspection, he said. If they still don't comply, the matter is forwarded to the county prosecutor's office for possible civil action.
Kubic said the department has made other changes, including requiring only the chief building official's signature on a final building occupancy permit. Before, seven signatures were required, which sometimes held up the process, he said.
Commissioners also planned to implement expanded hours, starting earlier and working later to accommodate contractors, but Hall said that hasn't taken place yet.
"The contractors didn't really want it that way," he said. "They'd rather we just be available when they need us."
Now, inspectors work weekends if necessary and are ready to be on the job early in the morning if they are needed.
"If a builder wants us out at 7 a.m., then an inspector is there at 7," Hall said.
bjackson@vindy.com