After significant efforts to recruit a replacement for retired septic inspector Leroy Halberg in the Cook County Planning & Zoning office, the search has been dropped, at least for the time being. At the Tuesday, June 8, 2010 county board meeting, Planning & Zoning Director Tim Nelson talked to commissioners about how Halberg’s duties have been distributed among existing staff.
The county is required to provide certain types of inspection services, but both of the two qualified applicants who applied during the first search turned down opportunities to interview for the job. Thedepartment will wait awhile in the hope that a new pool of applicants will be job searching next time they open the position.
“We did extensive recruitment the first time and didn’t get anyone with the proper license,” said Personnel Director Janet Simonen. Nelson said they would need to find someone with licensure, significant experience, and managerial skills.
In the meantime, Planning & Zoning Administrator Bill Lane is handling septic permitting, and assistant administrators David Demmer and Joseph Routh will provide septic inspections under restricted licenses (They have not completed all the requirements for full licensure yet.).
Thecounty will continue to inspect new septic systems, but since numerous private contractors are now licensed to inspect existing septics, Nelson will be trying to encourage property owners to hire them. To accomplish this, he is considering raising the county’s inspection fee from $100 to $300. Up until now, they have kept fees low and subsidized the cost of inspections so people would take advantage of their services.
Tim Nelson and Bill Lane will provide environmental health inspections while the county has no environmental health officer. The county has been providing fluoride analysis for property owners, but its equipment is outdated and the service will be temporarily suspended while the department investigates the cost and liability issues involved in updating its equipment and methods.
The county will continue to hand out well water tests that check for water quality, but it will temporarily suspend the program that provided complete system inspections. If the county takes the water samples instead of the property owner, it is obligated to inspect the whole septic system, Nelson said. It has been charging $75 for this service.
By this date in 2007, Nelson said, 77 land use permits of various types had been issued throughout the county. By this date last year, only 23 had been issued, but as of this county board meeting, the number was 53, already significantly up from last year.
The county board unanimously approved extending David Demmer’s workweek from 30 to 40 hours until the environmental health officerposition is filled. The county could hire Halberg back once 30 days have passed since his retirement. He is open to the possibility of helping out for a while, but he is also considering doing private inspections and couldn’t do both at the same time.
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