Just two city building inspectors did most of work last year

The city had some struggles last year when it came to building inspections, according to an internal audit tabled Tuesday at the audit committee.

Among the findings by Interim Auditor General Vasu Balakrishnan was that two of the city's residential building inspectors conducted the majority of inspections.

Balakrishnan audited the city's building controls, permits and the committee of adjustment. He made a number of recommendations, including ways to improve the process, the importance of departments sharing information and ensuring complaints and concerns from the public are handled more quickly.

He also recommended that building inspections be shared more equally.

Two staffers handled more than 1,800 inspections each, while two conducted less than 800.

Guido Mazza, the city's top building official, said there's a few reasons for the imbalance. One of his inspectors was seconded to another department.

“And I have challenges of people on sick leave,” Mazza said. “Last year, I had two off on sick leave ... We have to roll with the punches and juggle our human resources to make things happen.”

With the staffing issues, Ward 3 Coun. Gerry Montpellier wondered about the impact on home owners and builders.

“What happens when someone can't get an inspection?” he asked.

Mazza said that despite the challenges, they are still able to conduct inspections within 24 hours of receiving the request. That's why two of the inspectors were so busy.

“We make do with who we have,” he said. “We pay overtime to the inspectors we have left to do the work.”

Mayor Brian Bigger asked Balakrishnan how staff responded to the concerns he raised in the audit.

“Are you satisfied with the management responses?” Bigger, who was the auditor general until he was elected mayor in October, asked.

“I'm not totally happy,” Balakrishnan replied. “Not all of the management responses have clearly defined timelines.”

He's looking for more defined timelines when he conducts the followup audit in the coming months.