State now in charge of inspections

ENGLISHTOWN - The state has assumed the duties of conducting construction inspections in the borough.

Borough Administrator and Chief Financial Officer Laurie Finger said on Sept. 20 that in response to a request from the Borough Council, the state has assigned inspectors to Englishtown. The inspectors have assumed the duties of the borough's former construction enforcement office.

The duties of the construction code representatives include inspecting new construction, inspecting renovations to existing homes, inspecting plumbing and electrical repairs and issuing certificates of occupancy, Finger said.

The inspections will be 100 percent funded through user fees, meaning the people who require the services will pay for them, the administrator explained.

"We will no longer be raising money for the construction office through taxation," Finger said.

Residents or business owners who need permits for construction work may visit Borough Hall on a Monday or a Wednesday between 1:30-3:30 p.m. to fill out the necessary paperwork. An inspector will then be assigned to conduct the inspections.

In May, the council adopted an ordinance requesting the state to take over the duties of Englishtown's construction code department.

"We don't generate income from the construction department and in recent years the expenses for that department were greater than the revenues generated," Finger said at the time in explaining why the change was sought.

- Mark Rosman