Albion town and village approve agreement for shared code enforcement officer

ALBION – The village and town have approved an agreement for a shared code enforcement and zoning officer. As part of the contract between the two municipalities, Chris Kinter will work about 75 percent of his full-time workload for the village and 25 percent in the town of Albion, outside the village.

Kinter has been a part-time employee for the town and village as the codes officer. He is state certified and also passed the Civil Service test. He started two years ago with the town. Dan Strong also continues in a limited part-time basis for the town.

The contract approved on Monday by the Town Board calls for him to spend about 10 hours a week for the town and 30 hours for the village.

He will attend town board meetings, planning and zoning meetings, and any court sessions when there is an enforcement action.

Kinter will process building permits from initial permitting to issuance of certificate of occupancy or certificate of compliance. He will process and respond to code violations and complaints.

The contract between the two municipalities also has him doing fire inspections for the town, and being available for 24 hours for building-related emergencies.

The town will pay the village 25 percent of the expense for having a full-time codes officer. In 2024 the total cost for salary and benefits is projected at $88,379.44. The town will pay $22,094.86. Any additional training or vehicle maintenance expenses will be on a 75-25 percent ratio between the village and town.

The town will pay the village in two installments each year, in June and November.

The contract is a year-to-year agreement. Any increases above 3 percent will need approval from both the village and town boards.

“Hopefully it works out for everybody,” said Town Supervisor Richard Remley. “It’s an attempt at shared services.”

The two municipalities used to have different code officers, with the village in a full-time role and the town’s codes officer working part-time. But Kinter more recently has been working for both the village and town in the same position with the village cutting back some of the hours away from a full-time position.