New Baden Administrator Assumes Role as Chief Building & Zoning Officer

By Randy Pierce
Herald Publications

NEW BADEN – Duties of the chief building and zoning officer in the village of New Baden have been restructured and delegated to be spread among three different entities as a result of action taken by its board of trustees last week.

According to Mayor Taylor Zurliene, the revamping of the responsibilities connected with that position, held for many years by Jerry Green prior to his retirement in early 2022, involves having the local police department handle the code enforcement aspects of it in terms of being out in the community, observing, documenting and reporting on applicable situations.

Another component concerns the actual in-person inspections made in conjunction with various permits that are required by law to be obtained by property owners along with the confirmation of compliance with regulations and corrective actions that have been mandated. This role will be fulfilled by a qualified individual who has been appointed to handle these tasks.

Village Administrator Erika Heil will formally take on the role of chief building and zoning officer and has been authorized to delegate the appropriate duties as previously mentioned along with handling much of the paperwork, logistics and other details herself.

Heil’s appointment to that position, while still also serving as administrator for the municipality, by Zurliene was approved unanimously by the village board along with the appointment of Timothy Grass for the building inspector position.

Grass, who is a local resident, Zurliene noted, is qualified for this position as a result of his experience and knowledge connected with electrical inspector duties for a corporation from which he has since retired.

His appointment to the inspector position was made to extend through September 6 of this year at which time it will be subject to renewal. As the holder of this position, he will be paid a salary of $100 per month plus specific sums for the types of inspections he completes which consist of 75 per cent of the fees collected for residential and commercial building permits, electrical, plumbing and minor modification permits and $25 for each occupancy permit, both residential and commercial.

Earlier this year, Brad Burcham, an instructor at Wesclin High School specializing in industrial technology/building trades, temporarily filled the role of New Baden’s chief building and zoning official up until the most recent of his two monthly appointments expired on March 7, when the search to find a qualified person to take this position on a permanent basis had concluded.