Cincinnati DCD wants three new inspectors

The Cincinnati Department of Community Development is requesting three new inspectors to help implement the City's blight initiatives.

A policy implemented as part of the 2009/2010 budget process last December requires all new non-sworn and non-director level hires to receive approval from City Council, subject to a needs and impact assessment.

The new positions would be reimbursed from capital and federal funds.

An April 2008 report by city manager Milton Dohoney Jr. found that the average case load for Existing Building Inspection Division inspector was 340 properties, well above the average of 200 that Dohoney deemed "manageable".

At the time, the number of abandoned and vacant non-City-owned buildings stood at just under 2,000.

As of Monday, that number had ballooned to over 3,300.

All requests for vacant positions are reviewed by the Vacancy Review Board, which is composed of city manager Milton Dohoney Jr and representatives from the Budget Office and the Human Resources Department.

Previous reading on BC:
Number of Cincinnati's abandoned and vacant buildings tops 3,000 (12/23/08)
Dohoney issues report on B&I effectiveness (4/14/08)
Schoenberger says B&I understaffed, questions changes (12/27/07)