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By NANETTE LoBIONDO GALLOWAY
Ventnor City and Longport have severed their long-standing interlocal service agreement that allowed Ventnor building inspectors to conduct Construction Code inspections in Longport.
Following the retirement of Ventnor Code Enforcement Officer Jimmy Agnesino in March, the city found it no longer financially and logistically feasible to continue with the agreement with Longport that was in place since 1999.
Longport paid $46,000 a year for the service before Ventnor withdrew the agreement in favor of a temporary contract that would have had Longport pay Ventnor a monthly fee of $10,000 through June.
On May 15, the Longport Board of Commissioners passed several resolutions hiring its own inspectors, including former Ventnor employee Frank Sarno as its full-time Construction Code Official. Sarno will also perform building, electrical, fire, mechanical and plumbing inspections as needed. The board also hired on a part-time basis whenever needed, Donald McBride as electrical sub-code official, Robert Elentrio as plumbing sub-code official, and Michael O’Hagan as fire sub-code official. Sarno will earn an estimated $76,500 and the other inspectors will earn salaries outlined in the borough’s Salary and Wage ordinance, which was introduced for a public hearing on June 19.
Costs for Longport will increase initially but eventually even out, or perhaps even save money, because a long-time Building Department employee, Richard Hirsch, retired in January and his position was not backfilled, Chief Financial Officer Jenna Kelly said.
At the May 9 Ventnor City Board of Commissioners meeting, resident Diane Birkbeck expressed frustration with obtaining inspections on a building project at her home.
It becomes a “quality of life issue” if construction projects are delayed, she said.
“We as a community can do a more efficient job in some ways,” Birkbeck said, asking the board to explore how to get inspections completed more quickly, especially because residents may be required to live outside their homes while the property is under construction.
“We’re in a crunch time now, because everyone wants their jobs done by Memorial Day,” she said.
Mayor Lance Landgraf said her comments were “on point” but that the delay in completing inspections “is not a personnel issue, it’s a volume issue.”
“We’ve issued more building permits in the last three years, post-COVID, than we have in multiple years in the past,” he said.
Landgraf said the city realized it would have to pause its relationship with Longport and hired Trinity Code Inspection Services, LLC, a third-party sub-code inspection company that started working for Ventnor on May 15.
Administrator Tom Ciccarone said Longport was using Ventnor inspectors 30% of the time.
“Being with Longport held us back,” Landgraf said.
Both Landgraf and Commissioner Maria Mento, who had construction projects done at their homes, were required to use inspectors from Egg Harbor Township, due to a potential conflict of interest.
"We can’t have our people inspect our properties,” Landgraf said.
“Getting rid of the shared service with Longport will make a big difference,” Ciccarone said.
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