Verona Dismisses Building Inspector, Hires In-House Replacement

Verona Borough officials have dismissed building inspector Code.Sys Inc. and replaced the company with Verona’s code enforcement officer Mark Stanton.

Stanton will add the inspector duties to his current position. His pay rate of $20 per hour will not change, according to officials.

Council members cited the potential for cost savings to the borough and the ability for Stanton to keep tabs on properties due to his regular presence in Verona as code enforcement officer.

Code.Sys received an 80 percent cut of construction permit fees, while 20 percent went to the borough, according to councilwoman Rhoda Gemellas-Worf.

She said that paying Stanton to inspect the premises or a project would be cheaper in the long run than paying a company to do so.

“It’s like we’re keeping the work in house,” she said. “We’re trying to trim the fat in our budget.”

Gemellas-Worf said the decision could be seen as part of the borough’s efforts to tighten its belts financially.

“It’s not going to be a gazillion dollars, but we’re keeping it in the borough,” she said. “This is a small portion, but it’s something.”

Not all were in favor of the change. Council members Peggy Suchevich and Stanley Adamski voted against the motion.

Suchevich expressed concerns over liability issues and the possibility of the borough – instead of a private company – being sued.

“You’re making a big mistake, ask any other town,” she said.

Gemellas-Worf countered Suchevich’s concerns, saying that Stanton already was covered by the necessary insurance as a borough employee.

Suchevich also raised concerns over whether Stanton had time to perform the building inspector duties on top of his work as code enforcement staff. 

“He has time,” Gemellas-Worf said. “It’s not an everyday thing.”

A new code enforcement staff member, George Lender, was added to the borough’s  payroll to help Stanton when building inspector Mike Snyder was fired in August.

According to officials, both Stanton and Lender work 20 hours per month for Verona with the option of adding more hours with council’s approval.

Stanton is qualified to perform a variety of building inspections under Uniform Construction Code certification, Gemellas-Worf said.