Undermanned Lynn department struggles with permit backlog

By Thor Jourgensen -- The Daily Item
Friday, September 19, 2003

After losing two employees to retirement, the city Building Department is struggling to reduce a growing backlog of permit applications, some 21/2 months old.

Deputy Building Commissioner Edmund Blaisdell and Administrative Assistant Nancy Amenta retired in July, leaving Commissioner Francis Calnan with three inspectors and three clerks to process an average of 200 applications a week.

The applications include requests to inspect business locations before granting permits; review requests scheduled for Zoning Board of Appeals hearings; checks on code violation complaints and local churches, schools and nursing homes inspections.

The department has managed to process some applications in three weeks, but others filed in early July, even June 30, have yet to be approved.

Calnan said his department’s workload is as big as it has ever been in his 20 years as a city employee.

"We’ve actually closed the door and locked it some days so people could go to the bathroom. We’ve never done that since I’ve been here," he said.

The permit backlog is not news to the Lynn Area Chamber of Commerce and Lynn Business Partnership. Both organizations since 1999 have unsuccessfully urged the city to reorganize departments to streamline the permit process.

Ironically, the retirements that have left the Building Department and other offices shorthanded prompted Mayor Edward J. Clancy Jr. to begin focusing on the permit problem.

Up to 64 city workers are slated to retire by the end of the year under a one-time, state-sanctioned early retirement plan. Clancy sees the exodus of veteran city workers as an opportunity to reorganize and coordinate the services of city offices that review permits.

Clancy wants to assign a city official already handling permit reviews the additional job of making sure departments process permits in a timely fashion.

"We won’t be creating another layer of bureaucracy," he said.

Despite the retirements, the Building Department has processed 204 permits since July 1 - almost the same number it processed last year.

An increase in new housing construction has also required the inspectors’ attention.

"New houses require a lot of review," Clerk Kathy Collins said.

Some permits, including those for roofing and siding projects, are processed by the department in two to three weeks. But other requests take longer.

The chamber has suggested the city adopt eight changes aimed at speeding up the permit process, including requiring clerks to carefully check permit applications to ensure all necessary information has been provided by the applicant.