Booming West Hartford To Expand Building Inspector Office

WEST HARTFORD, CT — Construction is booming in West Hartford, and with new businesses, new apartment buildings, and new commercial developments, somebody has to inspect them.

Last week, the West Hartford Town Council unanimously voted to appropriate funding to add a new building inspector position to the West Hartford Department of Community Development.

According to the approved resolution, the town "has seen an increase in construction projects and applications for building permits associated with such projects."

As a result, West Hartford Town Manager Rick Ledwith recommended the town appropriate $96,885 for a new building inspector to join the town's ranks.

"This resolution will allow us to hire an additional building inspector to meet, really, an unprecedented level of demand on our building department over the last couple of years," Ledwith said last week.

"And we're currently experiencing record levels of construction activity throughout the town."

He said it will allow the town to keep pace with permitting, inspections, and code compliance checks, adding that two inspectors are already planning to go on leave in the upcoming weeks.

"Essentially, it's allowing us to stopgap the decrease in staff over the next couple of months," Ledwith said.

The new position, approved 6-0 by the council, will come from the town's 2025-26 general fund budget.

"We are experiencing a lot of activity, and we have had some issues with some staff," said West Hartford Mayor Shari Cantor.

"We know that that is a frustrating process and can really slow things down. And this is part of responding to that."

For the complete resolution on the new building inspector position, click on this link.

For the minutes of the Aug. 12 West Hartford Town Council meeting, click on this link.