NEC Inspector
Member
- Location
- Kansas
- Occupation
- Inspector
Stay on him and his bosses. It's the only way bad inspectors get straightened out or removed.
City command structure varies, but generally the building department is a division of another department, usually Community Development, but could be Public Works or the Fire Department. Those departments typically answer to the City Manager's office, which answers to the mayor and city commission. Getting your hands on an org chart for a city is not a bad thing to do - you can stir up a lot of stuff that way.
The farther up the chain you go, the more unusual it is to get complaints about an individual inspector. The City Manager's office should almost never hear about an individual inspector during the normal course of things, so when they start getting complaints about a particular inspector, things move. Don't let unresponsive individuals in the chain stop things - somebody on that list cares about getting it right.
Going to the state is a good move, we don't have state oversite here, so the city is all we have. Even with state oversight, don't discount rattling cages at the city - they have to live with you, the state guys don't, and they have more actual power to deal with rogue inspectors.
Inspectors should be challenged when there is no code section for what they are enforcing. Even good ones enforce things wrong sometimes and appreciate the education. It is a good day when an experienced inspector finally meets a worthy opponent - they get fewer and fewer as the inspector gains knowledge.
City command structure varies, but generally the building department is a division of another department, usually Community Development, but could be Public Works or the Fire Department. Those departments typically answer to the City Manager's office, which answers to the mayor and city commission. Getting your hands on an org chart for a city is not a bad thing to do - you can stir up a lot of stuff that way.
The farther up the chain you go, the more unusual it is to get complaints about an individual inspector. The City Manager's office should almost never hear about an individual inspector during the normal course of things, so when they start getting complaints about a particular inspector, things move. Don't let unresponsive individuals in the chain stop things - somebody on that list cares about getting it right.
Going to the state is a good move, we don't have state oversite here, so the city is all we have. Even with state oversight, don't discount rattling cages at the city - they have to live with you, the state guys don't, and they have more actual power to deal with rogue inspectors.
Inspectors should be challenged when there is no code section for what they are enforcing. Even good ones enforce things wrong sometimes and appreciate the education. It is a good day when an experienced inspector finally meets a worthy opponent - they get fewer and fewer as the inspector gains knowledge.