POLL: Somerville’s Inspectional Services Department
Somerville City Hall / Photo credit: Eric Kilboy, Flickr CC
City Hall announced last week that inspectional services superintendent Edward Nuzzo would return to his previous position as a manager in the newly re-established capital projects department.
The City and Nuzzo both say the decision is his own (and why not? — The job pays nearly $13,000 more per year), but Nuzzo had been unable to pass state-mandated tests to show he was qualified for the position as ISD superintendent.
In fact, Somerville has been without a fully-certified ISD head for years.
Has that mattered? Have you had any struggles with ISD in the past, or heard of any bad stories? Or, as far as you can tell, are the state tests little more than bureaucratic minutiae?
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Struggles, no? However, I do see very clear ways where the department can improve. Inspectional services is not a Monday through Friday, 9 to 5 job. I’d like to see the city hire someone who commits to a Wednesday to Sunday schedule (taking Monday and Tuesday off) to handle the weekend violators.
Ed has done a good job of holding down the fort in the interim. I’m glad he’s transitioning to a post where he feels comfortable, but it’s time for the city to hire someone that has their proper certification in place.
I have called Inspectional Services to report issues with my landlord. They never returned my calls. Their last visit to the property I live in was 2006, and I cannot believe it passed inspection.
The inspectors need to be certified & know the code, but the dept. head is an administrator, so his certification is less important. Most of the inspectors in the dept know the code, show flexibility where necessary, prioritize safety, & are a pleasure to work with. However, Luis is unrelenting, often guessing at the code, and costing both the city & clients unnecessary dollars. The electrical inspector is in a league of his own: making homeowners perform unnecessary upgrades in order to keep the electricians working & billing.