Macon’s Bureau of Inspection & Fees, tasked with making sure all construction in Macon and Bibb County is up to code, has seen a lot of turnover already this year. Director Lee Smith retired at the start of 2011, and three inspectors followed suit Feb. 28. New Director Tom Buttram just started Feb. 2.

Now a political controversy is sparking rumors of further job consolidation and abandonment of long-standing professional practices.

Councilman Ed DeFore alleges that Mayor Robert Reichert’s administration is pushing for Buttram to have inspectors review work in specializations for which they’re not fully qualified.

“They’ve tried this before. It didn’t work,” DeFore said.

Buttram, however, says no such move is under way. He’s unfamiliar with local political history on the issue, but he insists no one’s mentioned the term “combined inspector,” Buttram said. He agrees with DeFore that larger commercial or industrial construction is too complex for one inspector to check out more than one system.

Buttram said budget pressures had led to his wondering aloud whether one inspector could check out all aspects of small dwellings -- structure, electrical, plumbing, and heating and cooling.

“There is a certification for a one- and two-family building inspector,” he said. “This particular certification qualifies a guy to look at a residence or a duplex. As you can imagine, the systems for a single-family home ... are much simpler than the systems for a hospital or for a hotel.”

“I think that was the issue that Mr. DeFore was concerned about,” he said.

Since housing is the most depressed segment of the construction market, however, even that is not likely anytime soon, Buttram said.

Nevertheless, DeFore is sponsoring a city resolution on the subject, which cleared the City Council’s Public Works and Engineering Committee this past Tuesday in a 4-0 vote and is headed for a full City Council vote April 5.

The resolution says all inspectors must be state-certified in their particular crafts or will only do inspections within those crafts.

Originally the legislation said inspectors must be certified to state standards “and” only inspect within their crafts, but DeFore accepted an amendment from Councilman Tom Ellington to change one word.

That change made it acceptable, indeed redundant, to the administration. The department is already following that standard, Buttram said.

“Every inspector that is here now is certified,” and several are certified in more than one specialization, he said.

But saying “and” instead of “or” might hinder future hires, Buttram said. Inspectors can be sent out on jobs before getting fully certified, as long as they’re qualified for the job and working on certification in that specialization. Newly hired inspectors have 18 months to get certified, he said.

Right now the city employs two building inspectors, one commercial property inspector, two HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) inspectors, two electrical inspectors and two plumbing inspectors, plus managers, a plan examiner and two permit specialists, according to Buttram and the department’s website. One of those building inspectors and a permit clerk were laid off in early 2010 due to city budget cuts but rehired when other jobs came open, he said.

A mechanical inspector and another building inspector likely will be hired in the next week, Buttram said.

DeFore promised to keep a close eye on the department. Any attempt to have inspectors work outside their specialization would be a “slap in the face” to skilled tradespeople, he said.

And DeFore, a union member since 1953, said others are watching, too. More than two dozen local unions will weigh any changes when voting in the July 19 mayoral primary, he said.

To contact writer Jim Gaines, call 744-4489.