North Hempstead Town Supervisor Jennifer DeSena proposed last week removing her authority and the power of council members to override the Building Department’s decisions on so-called “expedited” permits.

DeSena’s proposal wouldn’t actually improve the performance of a Building Department that is greatly in need of repair. There are no allegations that supervisors or town board members have abused their authority in the past.

But that doesn’t mean the town shouldn’t bar the supervisor and council members from overriding the decisions of trained staff members who deal with permits on a daily basis.

For starters, it is not their job and the risks greatly outweigh any benefits.

“No other town on Long Island has a provision like this,” DeSena said. “This arrangement is legally improper and leaves the door wide open for potential corruption, favoritism and the development of a pay-to-play atmosphere to ensure the approval of an expedited application.”

Exactly.

Councilwoman Veronica Lurvey defended the current law, saying that removing council members’ ability to override the Building Department would be harmful to residents and business owners.

“The process that’s in place right now has been in place since 2007,” Lurvey said. “It was put in place because the Building Department wasn’t approving and not expediting requests and this was a way to fix that problem.”

But Lurvey’s reasoning would actually seem like another reason to get rid of the policy – it isn’t working.

Residents and businesses are forced to endure long delays in getting building permits and approvals, often costing businesses owners thousands of dollars in lost revenue.

Lurvey and her fellow council members would better serve town residents by doing their actual jobs, which is to oversee the Building Department and not help run it.

They could start by reviewing the 390 “expedited” permit requests that were rejected by the Building Department over the past five years and, especially, the 56 overridden by a member of the Town Board. Better yet the town could hire someone to conduct an independent investigation.

Were the 56 projects the most important to the town economy? Did the property face imminent harm? Or were the applicants just friends or political supporters? Town residents have a right to know.

Are we being too harsh?

Well, the local law giving the supervisor and council members the ability to override the building commissioner was written in 2007 – the same year five Building Department officials were indicted.

This followed a 16-month investigation by then Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice into the practice of requiring favors and payments in exchange for granting permits without inspections.

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

No, this does not argue for the supervisor and town council members getting directly involved in the permit process. But it does make clear the need for the Town Board to closely oversee the department’s operation.

DeSena, who like Wayne Wink, her Democratic opponent in the recent town election, cited major changes to the Building Department as her No. 1 goal, made a second proposal that would also be at best a minor improvement.

That proposal would be to require the Building Department commissioner to make a decision on “expedited” permits within seven days.

This raises several questions. For one, what are the requirements for an expedited permit? Just how long are permits deemed so necessary that they need to be “expedited” actually taking now? And how long does it take to get a permit that is not expedited?

More importantly, why is there even a need for an “expedited” permit? Shouldn’t all building permits for businesses and residents be promptly issued?

People opening new businesses employ lawyers, architects, electricians and other construction workers to open.

They pay rent and then employ people to help run their businesses, filling empty storefronts in business districts, which helps improve the health of neighboring establishments by attracting additional customers there.

And for the honor of doing this they pay the town for the permits. Yes, they actually provide revenue to the town.

So why should they have to wait to begin improvements needed to start or expand their businesses in business districts pockmarked with empty storefronts?

Residents also pay for building permits as well as construction-related businesses, which are doing work on their homes as well as businesses that help furnish the homes afterward.

This also pumps money into the economy, increases the value of the home and at least eventually results in increased property tax payments.

DeSena and Wink said during the campaign that there needs to be a change in the Building Department’s culture.

This should begin with the recognition that businesses and homeowners making improvements to homes, offices and retail locations are contributing to the health of the town and should be encouraged.

This would also include rules that require permits, whether for businesses or residents, to be approved promptly with clear guidelines set for the Building Department.

If this means hiring more town staff, then hire more staff. If it requires cutting through the red tape, cut through the red tape. If it requires both, do both. And track this information online for everyone to see.

It should be the job of the Building Department to work with permit applicants at the outset to help them avoid needless delays in the approval process.

The town should also try to identify required corrections all at once. Currently, many businesses and residents complain that after fixing one problem an inspector will identify a second problem. And after the second problem is fixed a third problem. And so on.

The fixes that DeSena has outlined so far just scratch the surface of the town’s problem. We would have expected more after she ran a campaign in which the Building Department’s problems played a central role and has spent three months in office.

Lurvey, who along with other Democrats on the town council has clashed repeatedly with DeSena since she was elected in November, suggested the town’s first supervisor who ran as a Republican “go back to the drawing board” after her first two proposed changes.

But Lurvey and her fellow Town Board Democrats said nothing about the town Building Department last week in announcing a “List of Priority Initiatives for 2022” that seemed to serve as a response to DeSena’s State of the Town address last week.

The nearly 1,000-word press release included a paragraph on “Economic Development” that cited a Small Business Loan Program, hosting roundtables with local chambers of commerce and community groups to “frequent businesses in their downtowns” and a “campaign to promote shopping and dining in our downtowns.

But not one word about the Building Department.

Until the recent election, Democrats controlled the supervisor’s seat and held a 6-1 advantage on the Town Board.

They had plenty of time to address the problems in the Building Department during that time. And they shouldn’t need more time to meet with chambers of commerce and community groups now. Those groups have already told them what they think needs to be done. As did Wink in his failed campaign for supervisor.

Fixing the Building Department should be the No. 1 priority of DeSena and all members of the Town Board, Democrats and Republicans alike.

They should act now, not later.