City Controller Alan Butkovitz called for the dismissal
of Department of Licenses and Inspections Commissioner Carlton Williams, saying
Williams has failed to improve the beleaguered department.
"It is time to appoint new leadership," Butkovitz
said at a news conference Wednesday.
The controller said L&I "continues to jeopardize
public safety" by allowing uncertified employees to conduct building
inspections, relying on an antiquated computer system that is open to
tampering, and moving too slow to eliminate unsafe buildings.
Butkovitz's stance on Williams represented the first time
in memory that a controller has called for the dismissal of a top
administrative official.
Mayor Nutter, who has three months left in his term,
defended Williams, saying he will continue as the head of the department.
"I have full confidence in the work that he is
doing, the changes that he is trying to make," Nutter told reporters
outside of his office. "The commissioner is doing a fine job in trying to
transform an important public agency here in the city."
Williams stood with Nutter as the mayor spoke, but took
no questions. Nutter said he would answer reporters' queries for the two of
them.
Nutter labeled Butkovitz's call for Williams' dismissal
"outrageous" and "misguided."
Democratic mayor nominee Jim Kenney, who will likely be
the next mayor given the city's 7-1 Democratic registration edge, has
previously said he would replace Williams as L&I commissioner.
Since the June 2013 fatal Salvation Army thrift collapse
in Center City, the administration has attempted to put safety measures in
place to prevent a similar incident. Butkovitz has released several reports
since then that allege there are still flaws in how L&I operates.
Many of those reports have followed stories in The
Inquirer that have outlined L&I failures, including construction completed
without inspections, unpermitted demolitions, and uncertified building
inspectors.
In calling for Williams' resignation, Butkovitz said that
L&I management put up "huge resistance" to inquiries from his
office, which was compelled to subpoena documents that the agency had not
turned over.
The controller found that seven months after his office
sent city officials a list of 100 dangerous properties, some of those
properties are still standing and in worse condition than before.
"If you can't get imminently dangerous buildings
torn down in 30 days when you've had two years . . . then what are you doing in
the department that is worth your stewardship," Butkovitz said.
Nutter said that L&I has worked to greatly reduce the
number of dangerous properties. An L&I count shows that there are 271
dangerous properties in the city, down from 628 in 2013.
One of the biggest points of contention between both
sides is the current computer system known as Hansen. Butkovitz criticized the
system for allowing employees to go in and erase or write over notes.
"It is chaos," Butkovitz said.
Nutter said the new computer system, eClipse, will be
fully operational by next spring. The controller later responded that the
administration continues to push the deadline.
Source: Philly.com
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