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Elgin leaders last week approved restoring a long-vacant building official position as city staff works to keep pace with growing development.
The full-time position within the Development Services Department will be responsible for administering and enforcing building codes, permitting, inspections and related regulatory functions. Development Services Director Beau Perry said the city is currently reliant on third-party reviewers and inspectors, which can create delays and limit communication between residents and the people reviewing their projects.
“You don’t have that interface that’s really important to citizens looking to redistribute or invest in their properties,” he said.
Perry said the position has existed for years but remained vacant because qualified applicants were difficult to find. The duties have been absorbed by other positions or distributed among other departments.
“It’s probably going on six to seven years since the city actually had a true building official that can actually represent the city on a face-to-face basis with the public,” he said. “This position will fill that void.”
Officials said the goal of the position is to provide residents, contractors and developers with a local point of contact for permitting and inspection questions while reducing spending and reliance on outside reviewers.
According to Perry, the position would be especially beneficial for homeowners and small business owners undertaking smaller projects.
“They understand the community, they can be here — they can talk to them — they can work through those permitting frustrations,” he said.
The staffing request comes as Elgin experiences growth on multiple fronts, from the town’s first speculative industrial project approved in late April, to local redevelopment and reinvestment.
Perry described the position as an important step in matching city services to Elgin’s continued growth.
“I think this would show that the city is serious,” Perry said. “Everybody can make an investment back to the city.”
