Dearborn Mayor Appoints New Director Of Property Maintenance And Development Services Department

Press release from the City of Dearborn:

Mayor John B. O’Reilly, Jr. has appointed a new director to lead the Property Maintenance and Development Services Department (PMADS).

Tim Hawkins, formerly the manager of the Inspections Program Division of PMADS, will now lead the department as director. He replaces Nick Siroskey, who retired in August.

“I’m pleased to have Tim Hawkins lead a great team of city employees in this very busy department,” said Mayor O’Reilly. “He is focused on customer service and that’s important, given the daily interactions PMADS has with residents, contractors and businesses.”

PMADS is responsible for issuing building permits; inspecting construction projects; issuing certificates of occupancy for home sales; approving commercial building occupancy; the collection of trash, recyclables and yard waste; and educating people on, and enforcing, property maintenance rules .

Hawkins has served the City for more than five years, beginning as an emergency hire in 2015, and was promoted to a fulltime building inspector the same year. He was then promoted to a senior inspector in 2016. Prior to that, he was the president /chief executive officer for a masonry contracting company in Dearborn from 2011 to 2015.

Hawkins was initially licensed as a building inspector in 2015 under the State of Michigan Act 54 of 1986, then was recertified under the Skills Trades Regulation Act 407 of 2016, and is certified through the International Code Council in property maintenance. He also holds a certificate for storm water management operations. In addition, he became a journeyman bricklayer in 2004 and remains in good standing. One of the most beneficial projects Hawkins help to facilitate in PMADS was the development of a new re-occupancy inspection program by creating a team of city employees from different departments to work collaboratively together on required inspections. Prior to this new system, business owners had to set up multiple inspections with different departments on different dates, which could take weeks.

“This decreases the time for businesses to get their certificates of occupancy, making the Property Maintenance and Development Services Department more business-friendly,” said Hawkins. Hawkins, a lifelong Dearborn resident, stated that connecting to the community is vital to him and that, as director, he aims to focus on providing services to Dearborn residents and businesses that are comprehensive and quality focused.

“These are my neighbors, family, and friends” he said. “That’s why it’s so important to me to be an advocate for good customer service.”

This emphasis on community is evident in Hawkins’ participation in numerous community groups. He has served as vice president of the PTA and continues to be an active member for the Nowlin Elementary School, is an active member of the Dearborn Goodfellows and the Lions Club of Michigan.

“My goal is to make PMADS the most customer-focused service department in the City,” Hawkins said. “By streamlining our processes and focusing on positive customer interactions when utilizing our services, we will strengthen our partnerships with Dearborn residents, businesses, and other community stakeholders.”

This press release was produced by the City of Dearborn. The views expressed here are the author’s own.