Audit: Building Dept. is running efficiently
Published on June 4th, 2003
STONEHAM, MA - Despite recent complaints by Stoneham residents and construction contractors concerning the Town's Building Department, a state audit performed by the Massachusetts Department of Public Safety reported that the office is being run efficiently.
Four representatives from the District State Building Inspector's office reviewed the Town department on April 11, finding that the office's staff had the proper qualifications to perform their duties and that the office's records were well-maintained and updated.
"I think if you look at the report you'll find that we did quite well. Although the report was quite bland, it said good things about the office," remarked Town Administrator David Berry, who initially requested in writing that the state perform the review. "That's not to say that we can't always improve office functions," added Berry, who feels that the department's customer service could be improved.
While the audit did conclude that the Building Department ran well, the report also made several recommendations to improve the Town office, including increasing Local Building Inspector Cheryl Noble's hours from 35 hours a week to 37.5 to 40 hours.
Although both Building Inspector Gene Argiro and Berry agree with that recommendation, Berry does not feel that the Town could afford such an hourly increase in light of budget deficit projections for the next couple of fiscal years.
"It's impossible to say when we could do that because we don't know what's going to happen next year with the budget. We would keep that in mind if things were to improve," explained Berry, who has worked closely with Building Inspector Gene Argiro to address a number of complaints raised by Stoneham residents in recent months.
According to Berry, while the office needs to establish a better system for handling the concerns of the townspeople, the recent state audit proves that an apparent deluge of resident complaints is not representative of the Building Department's overall performance.
"Fortunately, 90-95 percent of the job can go smoothly without any complaints, but the other five-percent can really seem a little worse than it really is...You don't want to pass judgement with just the tip of the iceberg here," said Berry.
Saying that the nature of his job makes it impossible to please every applicant, Argiro also expressed his hopes that the report will clear the cloud of controversy that has loomed over the department in recent months.
"I think it does validate the fact that we do run efficiently. Does that happen 100 percent of the time? I doubt it...We're always trying to improve and we take suggestions seriously," Argiro commented.
"It's really difficult sometimes dealing with people because a lot of times you're saying 'no' to people. It's really tough to deliver that with sugar and sweetness...People just don't understand... Everybody thinks things happen overnight and they really don't. It takes time to fill out the paper work," added Argiro.
To improve the response times for addressing permit applications, another area the audit found the office needed to improve on, Argiro will push to institute a few changes outside of the unlikely possibility of hiring more employees or increasing the number of hours current staff members work.
Among those changes, Argiro hopes the Building Department can update its computer software and create an automated caller attendant system that citizens can utilize when scheduling inspections.
"One of the things I'll be proposing is to have some type of caller attendant where people filing for a building inspection will be channeled directly to the voice mail system. That way, they won't have to deal with a person if they don't want to," said Argiro.
"Another thing I'll be proposing is updating our software because what we have now doesn't really do anything. It will be sort of like calling in a prescription - people can call us and schedule an inspection," Argiro added, claiming that both proposals would free up office manpower to deal with less mundane activities.
To cover the costs of those proposals and to also increase the Building Department's revenue, which has tapered off in recent years with a decline in large building projects, Argiro will also suggest charging $30-$40 for occupancy permits and certificates of compliance. According to Argiro, such a fee was charged by the office in the past and would create an additional $12,000 in revenue for the department.
In light of the recent audit findings, Argiro also took the opportunity to comment on remarks made by Selectman Charlie Smith during a joint Board of Selectmen and Finance and Advisory Board meeting on March 18. During that meeting, Smith told his counterparts that the Building Department ran inefficiently and that the town could save $84,000 by laying off Argiro, Noble and one of the department's assistants and hiring three part-time building inspectors in their place.
"Charlie Smith I don't understand. The day before becoming elected Selectman he had no idea what this job entails and the day after he's elected he thinks he knows everything about this office...For someone like Charlie, some good advice would be for him to come here for a few days. I never imagined that being on this side of the counter was that difficult. It's fun. It's challenging. But it's also difficult," remarked Argiro.
According to Smith's wife, the Selectman was unavailable to comment on the findings of the state audit at the time of this story due to a medical emergency.
Although Argiro specifically spoke about Smith, he also remarked on other officials who have lashed out at his job performance.
"It hurts and it's not fair because they really don't know what's going on in this office," said Argiro. "I take this job seriously. Do we make mistakes? Sure we make mistakes. Do we admit to them? Yes," Argiro added.
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