Schneider updates salary ordinance for building commissioner
The Town of Schneider updated their salary ordinance to reflect the new salary of the town’s building commissioner, Tim Henke.
Henke, who holds the same position in Lowell, is assisting Schneider on an as-needed basis.
Ordinance 2025-01, which establishes the town’s salaries for this year, passed unanimously with council president David Harris and council members Kevin Gray and Crista Stavros all voting in favor of the measure.
The ordinance calls for wages for the building commissioner position to increase from $426.25 to $450 per month. Harris said the position would remain with a 0% commission on all inspections.
Ken Lynch asked council if it was “fiscally responsible” to be spending the $5,400 per year to have a building commissioner on staff. Lynch asked how many permits and inspections are being done per year, and whether or not it would be more economically feasible to bring a contractor in to do the job instead.
“Because that’s a lot of money,” Lynch said. “Is that a fiscally responsible decision to be having someone in that position when there are no inspections going on, no permits being issued?”
Harris said no permits were issued through March, but some inspections were completed over the course of the month. Gray assured Lynch he understood his concerns about money being spent in a town the size of Schneider.
“Very limited resources,” Lynch reiterated.
Gray said the town used to pay the commissioner per inspection, but there “weren’t enough inspections to make it worth anybody’s while.” Clerk-treasurer Jenny Beier said the move away from paying the commissioner a percentage of inspections started in about 2014 to improve transparency with public funds.
“Since I’ve been here, I’ve been grateful to have (a salaried building commissioner) knowing how much it could cost to contract out,” Beier said. “I was here when the dollar store was built, so that was huge to pay $450 a month compared to what a building commissioner would have charged us.”
Lynch noted Beier’s example was only one building, but she pointed out houses have also been built in Schneider, and having the commissioner was particularly useful in regards to the grain elevator. Beier also noted having a commissioner on staff could be useful with the town being situated in a flood plain. She said it was to protect the homeowner.
“Our permits are not to make money,” Beier said. “They’re very cheap.”
Harris said the commissioner would also have to go through a six-hour training for flood plain administration as well. Beier also noted the commissioner will also be responsible for monthly census reports among other duties.
“There’s a lot more that goes on,” Beier said. “A lot of ADA requirements and training that’s involved. A lot of red tape involved that we have to answer to.”
Harris also noted council hasn’t approved any raises for any of its members, instead opting to allocate the funds to salary increases elsewhere.
The next meeting will be at 7 p.m. April 28.