Inspectional Services
City of Somerville FY22 Budget
Mission Statement
To ensure the safety of residents, community members, and workers by enforcing all laws and regulations pertaining to building construction, health and safety. ISD provides residents and community members with consistent information and education to navigate the permitting process to comply with local and state ordinances; provide local, state and federal code enforcement; emergency services and support to improve the health and safety in the City of Somerville.
Personal Services Changes
Personal Services are projected up 15% for FY22.
Three new positions are proposed for FY22:
- A Deputy (Junior) Sealer to continue responding to the growth in the Weights & Measures program and create redundancy in this essential duty.
- A Senior Zoning Review Planner to train new staff, work on complex projects, and coordinate with the Superintendent of ISD on zoning-related matters.
- A Director of Administration & Finance to lead the increasingly complex financials within this growing department.
The Superintendent and Deputy Director positions have been reclassified for FY22.
Changes in salaries are due to negotiated collective bargaining agreements and merit increases based on annual performance reviews.
Ordinary Maintenance Changes
Ordinary Maintenance costs are projected up 9% for FY22.
This is due to an increase in the Exterminations line offset by a slight reduction in the Books & Bookbinding line.
FY22 Goals & Measures of Progress
GOAL 1: Continue to develop efficiencies in the permit application process.
- Track time to approval for applications and volume of applications.
GOAL 2: Expand the City’s residential property rodent control program.
- Collaborate with the Environmental Health Coordinator to create and distribute educational materials pertaining to the program and other rodent control best practices.
- Determine efficiency improvements to increase the number of participating properties to at least 1,000 properties per year.
GOAL 3: Increase the efficiency of the zoning review workflow.
- Create and onboard the new position of Senior Zoning Review Planner to act as the point of contact for items requiring zoning review.
- Decrease the average time for zoning review completion.
GOAL 4: Begin development of a City construction safety program to provide policies and guidelines for contractors and developers to comply with the City’s Safety Ordinance.
- Develop a phased implementation plan of short range and long range goals, as well as the necessary documents and materials to implement each phase.
FY22 Budget
