Illness surges in Santa Rosa Building Inspections Department, residents can expect delays

As illness surges through the Santa Rosa County Building Inspections Department, residents, homebuilders and contractors can temporarily expect more delays.

"Right now, within our building department, and our inspections — for our inspectors — about one-third of our staff is out sick, either with COVID, or strep," said Santa Rosa County Planning and Zoning Director Shawn Ward.

Ward added that he does not know how long these employees will be out.

In an effort to reduce the spread of illness among staff, Building Inspections and Planning and Zoning departments closed at 3 p.m. Wednesday to allow for disinfection.

In a press release from the county, the Building Inspections Department said staffing shortages may cause permits, returned calls and inspections to be delayed.

David Peaden, executive director for the Home Builders Association of West Florida, said building departments have had staffing issues even before the coronavirus pandemic added an extra layer of uncertainty.

"I think they're doing the best they can. I really believe they've got a caseload that is probably all-time high with each inspector and what they have to do on a daily basis. Technology has made it a little bit easier. But I think they're doing the best they can with what they've got," Peaden said. "Of course, if there's delays, or you don't have personnel to do the inspections, it's going to impact timeliness."

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Ward said right now, Santa Rosa County still uses paper documents for the Planning and Zoning Department and building inspections. Ward said an application will go to Planning and Zoning to be reviewed. Then it will go back to the contractor or property owner and another submission is then made to the building department.

Ward said the transition to an electronic system could allow both departments to review applications simultaneously.

"We are in the process of moving to an electronic submittal process basically similar to the city of Pensacola, Escambia County. It's the same software, basically, that they utilize," Ward said. "And hopefully that will be live in the next 30 to 60 days. And then at that point, we can go ahead and have these dual reviews at the same time."

Peaden emphasized staffing issues for building departments are occurring across the region, not just in Santa Rosa.

"It's across the Panhandle. I mean, there's not a Santa Rosa County outlier for having a department understaffed," Peaden said. "Cities are trying to hire people as well as the county."

Looking ahead, Ward said the Board of County Commissioners has greenlit hiring more people for these understaffed departments.

"So, the Board of County Commissioners, because of the increase in building activity in Santa Rosa County, the Board of County Commissioners has actually approved an increase for some of our staffing levels, to hire more," Ward said.

Ward added that in the immediate term, they are taking things day-by-day.

"When you have staff that is out and sick and cannot review applications, I think it bumps that delay further down the line," Ward said.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Santa Rosa Building Inspections Department warn of delays