The Grantsville City Council approved replacing a part-time building inspector position with a full-time building inspector during its meeting last Wednesday night.
Grantsville City Mayor Brent Marshall said the full-time position, which will be filled by the current part-time inspector, is necessary due to major commercial projects taking up the time of building official Mike Haycock.
“With some of the stuff that is going on, the timelines to get things inspected are being pushed to the limit,” Marshall said.
The three most prominent projects include the city’s $3.6 million justice center and construction at the Walmart Distribution Center and senior citizens center, according to Marshall. The current part-time building inspector has training on residential projects and is receiving his training on commercial projects.
“We need to do that so that we can get and stay current on things and not be behind,” Marshall said.
The current part-time inspector works 25 to 27 hours per week at about $18 per hour. His pay would bump to $26 per hour for a full 40-hour work week, which Marshall described as average pay for a building inspector.
“Tooele City lost an inspector to the other side of the valley for more money than we’re offering,” he said. “Tooele City is now trying to hire a building inspector because they’re shorthanded.”
The position was included in the city’s current budget and is funded by building permit revenue. Marshall said if building permits were to decline, the position would no longer be full-time.
Grantsville City Councilman Tom Tripp motioned to approve the new position with a provision to review building permit revenue and the position each budget session. The council unanimously approved the motion.