Aldermen Back New Code Enforcement Department
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WATER VALLEY – The Water Valley Board of Aldermen voted May 19 to move forward with creation of a new standalone building and code enforcement department, which city officials said would improve enforcement, streamline inspections and increase collection of permit and registration fees already authorized under city ordinances.
The discussion centered around building inspector and code enforcement officer Will Carter, who currently works through the fire department, and the city’s plans to separate code enforcement and building inspections into an independent department that would answer directly to the mayor and board of aldermen.
Carter said the revenue stream for operating the department already exists through enforcement of the city’s building permit, rental registration and inspection ordinances. Under the city’s building permit ordinance, permits are required before construction begins, with fees tied to square footage, project type and installation of electrical, plumbing, gas and mechanical systems. A residential structure larger than 1,000 square feet, for example, requires a $150 base fee plus additional square footage charges, while commercial construction permits begin at $300 and increase based on size. The ordinance also doubles permit fees when work begins before permits are obtained.
“This year to date, we’ve already met what we made last year in building permits alone since we finally got somebody that can do it full time,” Carter told aldermen. “We’re sitting at about $20,000 right now.”
Carter argued much of the city’s permit and inspection revenue historically went uncollected because enforcement and inspections were handled on a limited basis without a dedicated full-time department.
Carter said additional enforcement of the city’s existing rental registration ordinance and a proposed vacant property registration ordinance could significantly increase collections while also improving oversight. The city adopted a rental inspection and registration ordinance in 2019 requiring landlords to register rental units, obtain certificates of occupancy and submit to periodic inspections, but Carter said enforcement has been limited because the city previously lacked a full-time inspector dedicated to the work.
Carter also referenced a proposed vacant property registration ordinance currently under review by the Water Valley Planning Commission after being tabled during the May 5 Board of Alderman meeting. Discussions during the meeting indicated city officials are studying portions of a recently adopted Hattiesburg ordinance aimed at regulating vacant and abandoned structures through registration requirements, inspections, property maintenance standards and escalating annual fees.
“If we can get the building department on its own and let me do all the stuff with it, we can chase down the rental registrations, which we’ve already got that ordinance passed,” Carter reiterated.
Carter estimated the city may currently be missing roughly $20,000 annually in uncollected rental registration revenue alone.
“And I’m thinking we’re about $20,000 on that that we’re not currently receiving. Once we pass the vacant property registration, that’ll be another $40,000,” Carter said.
Mayor Tommy Reynolds emphasized the proposal would not create new fees, but instead improve collection of fees already authorized under existing ordinances.
“In other words, if we had this department, you were not raising fees, but just properly collecting those that were due,” Reynolds said.
City Attorney Daniel Martin explained the department would function independently, with appeals ultimately going before the mayor and board.
“As I understand what you would do, it would be an independent entity,” Martin said. “And if there was an adverse decision, they could appeal to the mayor and board.”
A major point of discussion involved whether fire inspections should remain connected to the new department. Ward Two Alderman Demetrius Ingram argued fire inspections should remain strictly under the fire department.
“The problem that I got with it is that the citizens call and they say, ‘Will Carter will come inspect the building and the fire department’s with him,’” Ingram said. “So that’s why I say it needs to be separate.”
Fire Chief Mark McGavock noted annual fire inspections are currently conducted once per year and said the fire department has multiple inspectors capable of continuing those duties.
Carter noted that keeping inspections coordinated would reduce duplication and confusion for builders and businesses.
“A good example is Nabors,” Carter said about Nabors Home Center that recently opened on the bypass. “If we had this separate, I would have to go to the final building inspection for them and then call Mark and say come do the fire inspection. I’m already there.”
The board ultimately approved a motion by Ward Three Alderman Grant Thompson to begin establishing the new department with Carter continuing to conduct fire inspections also. The change will become fully effective Oct. 1 at the beginning of the city’s new fiscal year. Ingram seconded the motion and it passed unanimously.
Reynolds said the long-term goal is for the department to eventually occupy its own office inside city hall after the electric department relocates to the former county jail building on Calhoun Street as part of the Water Valley Utility Commission transition.
“I think it’d be a good thing if you had a place that would be your own place and your own department and everybody would know what it would be,” Reynolds said. “Every town that’s moving forward has exactly what he’s talking about.”
