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SAWHORSE
Delay in search for top Sarasota County building official
http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20151115/article/151119773
SARASOTA COUNTY Florida- Sarasota County will delay changing its chief building inspector job requirements after the man who most recently held that position warned of dire consequences.
Greg Yantorno, who was fired in September amid concerns about waived re-inspection fees, told county commissioners last week that the proposed change threatens the building department’s credibility and could raise insurance rates countywide.
“Hiring someone with less standards is not going to provide the level of proficiency that you require,” Yantorno said during a public hearing on the matter.
County Planning Services Director Tom Polk disagreed, but commissioners ultimately postponed a decision until they could get feedback from the building industry.
Currently, the county code requires eligible candidates for chief building inspector have at least a decade of experience as an architect, engineer, plans examiner, building code inspector, contractor or construction superintendent and at least five years of experience supervising a building department.
The proposal would eliminate the need for supervisory experience of a building department. Polk said the move simply makes the county’s job requirements consistent with the state code.
Although the state code also requires five years of supervisory experience, that experience doesn’t have to be in a building department.
The county posted the open position last month with a pay range listed of $55,556 to $73,694. Yantorno noted that previous chief building inspectors held salaries as high as $140,000. He suggested the county doesn’t want an experienced person for the job and alleged some kind of “agenda.”
He also said an inexperienced chief building inspection could cost the county points in its next building department audit, potentially dropping it to a lower ranking and causing insurance rates to rise.
Polk brushed off those concerns and noted that the salary could exceed the top end of the stated range depending on experience.
“We were wanting to find most qualified candidate,” Polk said. “We felt with the limitation of building department experience that it would limit the field.”
http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20151115/article/151119773
SARASOTA COUNTY Florida- Sarasota County will delay changing its chief building inspector job requirements after the man who most recently held that position warned of dire consequences.
Greg Yantorno, who was fired in September amid concerns about waived re-inspection fees, told county commissioners last week that the proposed change threatens the building department’s credibility and could raise insurance rates countywide.
“Hiring someone with less standards is not going to provide the level of proficiency that you require,” Yantorno said during a public hearing on the matter.
County Planning Services Director Tom Polk disagreed, but commissioners ultimately postponed a decision until they could get feedback from the building industry.
Currently, the county code requires eligible candidates for chief building inspector have at least a decade of experience as an architect, engineer, plans examiner, building code inspector, contractor or construction superintendent and at least five years of experience supervising a building department.
The proposal would eliminate the need for supervisory experience of a building department. Polk said the move simply makes the county’s job requirements consistent with the state code.
Although the state code also requires five years of supervisory experience, that experience doesn’t have to be in a building department.
The county posted the open position last month with a pay range listed of $55,556 to $73,694. Yantorno noted that previous chief building inspectors held salaries as high as $140,000. He suggested the county doesn’t want an experienced person for the job and alleged some kind of “agenda.”
He also said an inexperienced chief building inspection could cost the county points in its next building department audit, potentially dropping it to a lower ranking and causing insurance rates to rise.
Polk brushed off those concerns and noted that the salary could exceed the top end of the stated range depending on experience.
“We were wanting to find most qualified candidate,” Polk said. “We felt with the limitation of building department experience that it would limit the field.”
