160,000 units to inspect. 30 inspectors.
That would work out to a caseload of 5300+ per inspector. Assuming 2 weeks vacation, that's 250 work days per year. With the paperwork involved for processing violations and following up, I would venture that a rate of one unit per day would be a respectable pace. That means each unit can expect to be inspected about once every 20 years or so. If we actually want all units to be inspected annually, we would need 640 inspectors. Obviously, the inspections department is way understaffed no matter how you look at it. The solution? Hire more inspectors! Given the comments from M.G. Stinnett and Ron Leurquin, not only would the additional inspectors pay for themselves, but they'd also probably help make a dent in the city's overall budget problems... As for inspectors focusing more on "appearance issues" - is this really shocking? Most safety issues are going to be interior - potential gas leaks, non-functional smoke detectors, etc. I doubt too many homeowners are going to call Minneapolis Inspections to come check out their smoke detectors. As for rental properties, I'm sure there are a lot of tenants that do avoid reporting problems for fear of eviction or other retaliation, even if the housing market isn't as tight as a few years ago. It's still very tight around the U campus and given that many students can't afford cars and busing service in some areas is limited, they're pretty much forced to live as close to campus as possible. Commuting from across town just isn't an option, or at least, it's perceived not to be. So what does that leave for inspectors to focus on? Stuff they can see from outside and write up quickly, given their excessive caseloads - trash-filled yards, unmowed grass, and *gasp* peeling paint! If we want inspectors to focus on safety, we have to make it feasible for them to do so. 30 inspectors for a city this size falls far short of that and I don't think having firefighters take on inspections responsibilities is going to make much, if any, difference. The problem of having so many units to inspect and too few bodies to get out and visit them still remains. Mark Snyder Windom Park REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
