Departmental Highlights

Snapshot: Appropriation & Staffing Changes from 2024 Budget

	2024 Budgeted	2025 Proposed	Net Change	Percent Change
Appropriations	$40,142,876	$39,704,856	-$438,020	-1.1%
Positions & FTEs	290	280	-10	-3.4%

• Raising concerns for the department’s rate of inspections, a budgeted position has been removed from several of the department’s inspector titles: Supervising Building/Construction Inspector, Supervisor of Electrical Inspectors, Mason Inspector, Assistant Director of Conservation Inspections, and Supervising Ventilation and Furnace Inspector.
• This year’s budget adds no significant new positions at DoB. (A total of 16 new administrative assistant positions are retitlings of existing positions.)
  The bulk of DoB’s budgeted appropriations are personnel related, with salaries and wages accounting for most of the department’s budget. Despite a reduction of nearly one-third from the year previous, overtime remains the department’s third-largest appropriations category, following outside contracting via the professional and technical services appropriation account.
• DoB appropriations remained for the most part relatively comparable to the previous year, with the largest increase other than the new reserve balance appropriation in prevailing rate contract wages. 
• A small local transportation appropriation was eliminated in this year’s budget, while overtime and professional and technical services saw the largest net decreases. 

Historical Context

Despite some year-to-year fluctuations, the Department of Buildings has had an overall relatively stable level of funding, with appropriations increasing at an average annual rate of 1.3% from 2011 to 2024. 

After a drop in 2012 DoB staffing levels have remained similarly consistent, growing at a rate of 0.5% annually from 2012 to 2024. 

Staffing

This year’s budget adds no significant new positions at DoB. (A total of 16 new administrative assistant positions are retitlings of existing positions.) 

The department has been reduced from three assistant commissioner positions to one, and from six projects administrator positions to four. 

Raising concerns for the department’s rate of inspections, a budgeted position has been removed from a number of the department’s inspector titles: Supervising Building/Construction Inspector, Supervisor of Electrical Inspectors, Mason Inspector, Assistant Director of Conservation Inspections, and Supervising Ventilation and Furnace Inspector.

Appropriations

The Department of Buildings is primarily funded out of the corporate fund, with appropriations for certain personnel expenses coming out of the water, sewer, and vehicle tax funds as well.

$225,000 in federal grant funding for the professional and technical services appropriation last year has been eliminated and replaced this year with $224,000 in the new reserve balance appropriation. 

Largest Appropriations

The bulk of DoB’s budgeted appropriations are personnel related, with salaries and wages accounting for most of the department’s budget. Despite a reduction of nearly one-third from the year previous, overtime remains the department’s third-largest appropriations category, following outside contracting via the professional and technical services appropriation account.

Change from Previous Year

DoB appropriations remained for the most part relatively comparable to the previous year, with the largest increase other than the new reserve balance appropriation in prevailing rate contract wages. 

A small local transportation appropriation was eliminated in this year’s budget, while overtime and professional and technical services saw the largest net decreases.