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SAWHORSE
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 .
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 .
