Bay Village contracts building department services

After a competitive bid process, the City of Bay Village recently elected to partner with SAFEbuilt, a contract provider of building department services. The City is entering into a three-year contract with SAFEbuilt to provide complete building department services as well as property maintenance and rental compliance services. SAFEbuilt, which provides all the vehicles, technology and the properly licensed, expert personnel, will report directly to the Bay Village service and building director, Dan Galli. The SAFEbuilt Ohio team, which consists of staff members all hired from the local Northeast Ohio area, is set to begin operations May 1.

By privatizing their building department, the City will save approximately $250,000 in 2013 as a result of reduced expenses and avoided costs, as well as nearly $450,000 in annualized savings. Mayor Debbie Sutherland had this to say about Bay Village’s recent partnership with SAFEbuilt: “Working with the professionals at SAFEbuilt has been a godsend. We will be able to save precious tax dollars, improve service to contractors and residents with increased efficiencies. In this tough economic environment, cities must think outside of the box – and SAFEbuilt provided the win-win solution for us.”

SAFEbuilt has 140 clients and currently operates in Colorado, Georgia, Michigan, South Carolina, and Ohio. “We are very excited about expanding into Ohio, we feel Bay Village is a great fit and look forward to working with the residents to improve service levels,” said David Thomsen, SAFEbuilt vice president. “I think there is great opportunity for us to expand in this area and to work with neighboring communities to share resources aimed at leveraging greater efficiencies and community benefits.”

The City of Bay Village and SAFEbuilt will be hosting an open house on Monday, May 6, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Bay Village City Hall, located at 350 Dover Center Road. The open house is an opportunity for all interested parties to come see the new building department office space, meet some of the new building department staff members and ask questions.

Kyle Steitz

I am with SAFEbuilt, Inc.

Read More on Letters to the Editor
Volume 5, Issue 9, Posted 10:33 AM, 04.30.2013