Mississippi Mills' concern about open building permits prompts security deposits for residential permits

The Town of Mississippi Mills will implement security deposits for residential building permits. The amount of the deposits has not yet been determined but the town is concerned about the liability attached to the large backlog of building permits that remain open (1,800 of the 6,000 building permits issued since 1998). Closing them requires a final inspection and approval. Len Smith, the Chief Building Official has recommended that Council hire a qualified building inspector on contract to clear up the backlog. Council has bee advised that hiring an inspector would involve a pay scale of  between $54,470.13 and $66,957.70. The Committee of the Whole approved both the security deposit (but not the amount, recommended to be between $200 for a small project and $2,000 for new home) and the hiring of a building inspector on contract. The security deposit may be implemented as early as February of 2014 and the motion to hire a building inspector will be brought before council in the new year.