A resolution intended to make the inspection process easier for landlords and business owners in Union City, while saving the taxpayers money, was passed unanimously at a special meeting of the Union City Board of Commissioners on March 9.
The resolution will transfer the Department of Housing Inspection from the Department of Public Affairs into the Department of Public Safety. The transfer would allow all housing, building and health inspections to be under the supervision of the Department of Public Safety.
“We wanted to make it more of a one-stop shop,” said Union City Mayor Brian Stack.
All of the inspections in the Department of Public Safety will be headed by the newly hired construction code official, Luis Caballero.
Caballero, who was previously a plumbing sub-code official in Perth Amboy, was hired as of Monday. Caballero is a full-time employee with an annual salary of $68,000. His employment was approved by the state review team in City Hall.
Saving money
Keeping to his pledge of lowering the city’s spending and ultimately the city’s municipal tax rate, Stack said that this transfer of departments will save the city approximately $60,000.
Right now, the city has five housing inspectors whose salaries are not covered by the inspection fees. “What we are making on the housing inspections doesn’t cover their salaries,” said Stack.
Stack plans to transfer two of these inspectors to other departments. He hopes to move one housing inspector within the Urban Enterprise Zone department, where his salary would be paid by the monies generated by the 3 percent sales tax that the city’s merchants charge. Another housing inspector will probably be used as a fire sub-code inspector where the inspection fees do cover the salaries of their inspectors.
“That is two salaries saved,” said Stack. “That would be a saving of approximately $60,000 to the taxpayers of Union City.”
These transfers will also allow the city to serve those departments where inspectors are lacking. For instance, the city only has one certified fire sub-code inspector.
“We are trying to be more efficient with manpower,” said Caballero, who said that he believes in educating landlords and tenants about the subcodes.
“That will make a more comfortable and safe environment,” said Cabellero.
Under one roof
With this transfer taking effect immediately, almost all of the city’s inspections will take place under one department. The Department of Public Safety will now oversee the inspections for housing, health, building, fire sub-code and prevention, plumbing, electrical and elevators.
“We wanted to take the [bulk] of the main inspections, health, building and housing, and put them under one roof,” said Stack.
The only inspections not brought under Public Safety will be inspections by the Community Development Agency, as it is a federal agency. The CDA handles all Rental Unit Preservation Allowance (RPA) inspections, Certificate of Occupancy inspections and Certificate of Continued Occupancy inspections. The RPA system was added to the city’s Rent Stabilization Ordinance in 1996. This system allows landlords to take an apartment off rent control after the apartment has been renovated and has passed numerous inspections. This only applies to vacant apartments and cannot affect a tenant already living there.
Another resolution that would have transferred the Health Department out of the Department of Public Works and into the Department of Public Safety and transferred the Recreation Department out of Public Safety and into Public Works was tabled at the March 9 meeting.
This transfer will be held until after the budget year ends in July.
“We didn’t want to upset the budget year,” said Stack.
However, Department of Public Works Commissioner Tina Yandolino and Stack have an agreement by which Stack will be overseeing the Health Department and Yandolino will be overseeing the Recreation Department.