North Hempstead Supervisor Jennifer DeSena revealed a reform plan for the town’s Building Department Wednesday, seven months after the county delivered its audit report and after years of issues plaguing the department.

The announcement, made alongside North Hempstead Council Members Ed Scott and Dennis Walsh, focused on an initiative to “address longstanding problems” within the department. In response to the findings in the audit report, DeSena announced eight reforms to the department, which will be part of a series to be implemented over time.

These include overhauling the intake communication model and breaking down the wall between the department and the public; evaluating Citizenserve, which is the software being used in the department; digitizing all the records; establishing a fair and efficient appeals process; restructuring assignment rotations for inspectors; assembling the supervisor’s advisory panel that will include those with first-hand experience in knowledge of a particular field such as architects, builders, contractors, retired building inspectors and judges; addressing expedited review; and establishing the Legacy Issue Resolution Committee.

Councilwoman Mariann Dalimonte said DeSena did not speak with her partners before announcing these set of reforms.

“Time and time again the supervisor has neglected to meet with her partners in government,” said Dalimonte, a Democrat. “She has seemingly forgotten that reforming the Building Department will affect every resident of every district throughout the Town of North Hempstead. Constructive reform to the Building Department simply cannot occur when half of North Hempstead doesn’t have a seat at the table.”

DeSena, who is a registered Democrat but belongs to the Republican Party, said the most important aspect of these reforms is breaking down the wall between the residents and the Building Department. She said people deserve an accessible and accountable department.

DeSena said it took 20 years of “town mismanagement under previous town administrations” to get here so people can’t expect the problems to be fixed overnight. She said the Town will apply a “well-thought-out plan” that will be provide a roadmap of achievable goals and comprehensive reform.

In 2007, five Building Department officials were indicted after a 16-month investigation by then-Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice for receiving favors and payments in exchange for granting permits without inspections.

All five were later convicted, including former Commissioner David Wasserman. He was sentenced to one year in jail in 2008 after pleading guilty to grand larceny and falsifying business records.

Scott said the Legacy Issue Resolution Committee was created because of the “corruption” that transpired between 2003 and 2007. He said many constituents in his district have fallen victim to the Building Department taking bribes and houses being built over the square footage. These property owners were issued improper and nonconforming certificates of occupancy, and as a result they are not currently in compliance with state law.

The committee, which will be an outside panel of advisers, will review and advise on structuring a resolution to bring these properties into compliance and remedy their situation.

“It’s been a long time that they have not been able to get relief,” DeSena said. “So they’ll be making recommendations to what we can do so that these homeowners can move forward.”

DeSena requested the audit in July 2022 after winning election in November 2021 after a campaign in which she focused on the need for department changes.

Findings in the audit included “significant problems” with the department’s online permit portal that underutilized software features, a lack of standardized procedures and operational oversight leading to operational inefficiencies, a lack of communication and transparency with permit applicants, and a lack of standardization for permit expedition procedures.

These issues will be tackled by evaluating the aging software interface Citizenserve to determine whether continued investment into the program is warranted or if it should be replaced. Also, by “breaking down the wall between department and public,” the Town’s 311 call center will now field all calls for the department and generate a call log.

“When request for help or information comes in, whether it’s information from the applicant or a professional working on the job, the inspector will have to respond within 48 hours,” DeSena said. “They will have to respond because that is reasonable, that is what our taxpayers and what our professionals deserve.”

The department has also been criticized for its approval delays, which have dragged out processes for businesses and residents over the years. This issue will be tackled by digitizing all of the records. The Town authorized approximately $2.5 million to convert all of the Town’s paper records, including those of other departments, to digital files.

DeSena said she will also be rethinking expedited review, which was adopted as part of the Town’s code by a prior administration following the 2007 Building Department scandal. This code would allow a council-member or supervisor to overrule the decision of the Building commissioner on whether the town should issue or deny an expedited permit.

“It’s just not fair for me to expedite one person and another person has to wait on line forever,” DeSena said.

“At her swearing-in and many times since, the supervisor has spoken about collaboration, so I was stunned to learn that today she announced reforms to the Building Department to the media without even a prior whisper to her Democratic colleagues on the Town Board,” Dalimonte, said. “Time and time again the supervisor has neglected to meet with her partners in government. She has seemingly forgotten that reforming the Building Department will affect every resident of every district throughout the Town of North Hempstead. Constructive reform to the Building Department simply cannot occur when half of North Hempstead doesn’t have a seat at the table.”

DeSena said the overall message of these reforms is that this administration is committed to delivering an accountable and accessible building department to meet the needs of the residents and businesses. She said these reforms will make housing projects move at a reasonable speed.