LAKEPORT – The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday held off on eliminating a county building inspector position, opting instead to wait for a draft budget from the county's administrative officer.
Community Development Director Rick Coel went to the board with an update on the Building and Safety Division's budget.
To date, he said the department has eliminated two positions, one through layoff and the other through a transfer to the Planning Division.
“We're still faced with significant shortfalls in our revenue projections,” Coel said.
Based on the revenue shortfalls, Coel said additional actions need to be taken, including eliminating at least one building inspector position. A second inspector spot could be extended through redevelopment and other project funding.
He also was looking for board approval to delete one grading and stormwater coordinator and add a grading and stormwater inspector position, which he said was approved by the county's reclassification committee. Coel said the position would be responsible for more onsite inspections, including foundations on new properties.
County Administrative Officer Kelly Cox said the only action the board needed to take Tuesday was adopting the resolution to change the position, which would allow for an internal recruitment so they could pick up an employee who could be subject to layoff.
“I think you can hold off on that until budget time,” he said, explaining that redevelopment and county Public Works projects can help cover one of the inspector spots.
Supervisor Anthony Farrington said the county used to not have enough inspectors, but he said he has heard from a contractor who said he's seen inspectors driving around for things to do.
“If we're just delaying it for the sake of delaying it, I don't have great comfort in that,” Farrington said of the proposed layoff.
He asked about impact on county projects if the layoffs took place. Cox said if they lay off one position there won't be an impact, but if they lay off two, it will impact the inspector he wants for the Upper Lake Main Street reconstruction project, which is taking place this summer.
Farrington asked if that project would require a full-time inspector. Cox said if they have to hire out the project, it could cost the county $260,000. He said he's looking to use a county inspector and engineer, which will both save money and give the staffers skills they can use on future projects.
“You don't have a resolution in front of you to do that right now,” Cox said of the layoffs.
Board Chair Denise Rushing said she appreciated the level of creativity and effort that is going into solving the county's budget challenges.
Coel told the board that he hadn't been able to substantiate the claims about inspectors driving around looking for things to do.
“There's plenty of work to be done,” said Rushing, adding that it looked like staff had a really good plan to develop employee skill sets.
Supervisor Rob Brown suggested Farrington give Coel the name of the complaining contractor so he can track down more information on the inspectors issue.
Supervisor Jeff Smith suggested there is work in the county's code enforcement and safety divisions to help fill the inspectors' time.
Rushing agreed, saying there also are grants to be pursued and a county fire plan. “There's plenty of work that needs to be done.”
“This creative approach allows us to use funding from a different source to address the stormwater issues,” said Coel, noting that the proposed changes in staff will reduce the number of building inspectors to two for the entire county.
The board unanimously approved Coel's request to reclassify the stormwater positions.
After the vote, Farrington asked if the board was interested in eliminating the other building inspector spot. Rushing said she wasn't, and wanted to retain the position as long as possible.
Cox said Farrington's concerns about the budget were valid. He said when he brings the recommended 2009-10 budget to them soon he believes it will include less staffing in the Building and Safety Division.
In other board news, supervisors directed Special Districts staff to finalize a drought management plan for the county's sewer and water service areas. That plan includes mandatory water conservation measures.
The board also adopted emergency water conservation restrictions for the county's 10 service areas.
Even though the county recently received about 2 inches of rain, “We're still 8 or 10 inches below what we really needed,” said Special Districts Administrator Mark Dellinger.
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