The Invisible Staffing Gap Costing Cities Time and Trust

This article is part of SAFEbuilt’s Economic Development Series, created to help municipalities and public agencies overcome modern challenges in planning, permitting, staffing, and growth.

Each blog is paired with a companion episode of the Built for Tomorrow podcast, where we dig deeper into the systems shaping local government and the bold moves needed to modernize them.  

You didn’t lose your team. But something’s missing.

Maybe it’s a few key roles on leave.
Maybe it’s an impending retirement.
Maybe it’s just the slow attrition of a team running on fumes.

No one did anything wrong...except now the permits are piling up, plan review timelines are slipping, and developers are starting to ask questions like:

“Is this project still viable?”
“Should we look at a neighboring city instead?”
“Who’s even handling this?”

You can’t always see it on paper, but communities are already paying the price of invisible staffing gaps. 

A good building department doesn’t need to be replaced. It needs a buffer.

And that buffer doesn’t have to be permanent. Or expensive. Or complicated. 

It just needs to be strategic. That’s what cities across the country are learning. Instead of hiring full-time staff with pension obligations and long onboarding ramps, they’re doing something smarter:

⚙️ Bringing in a qualified building official while their succession plan matures.

⚙️ Filling known FMLA or medical leave coverage with certified experts who can hit the ground running.

⚙️ Offloading plan reviews for high-volume or complex projects to keep internal teams focused on day-to-day operations.

⚙️ Adding inspection support when development peaks — and scaling it back when things cool down.

This isn’t outsourcing. It’s outsmarting the staffing challenge. Because when the permit sits too long, when developers go elsewhere, when your seat stays vacant for too many months, the future doesn't wait. 

Let’s talk real examples.

• FMLA + Retirement Combo: Your team is strong, but you know a building inspector is going on medical leave next quarter, and another is retiring early next year. We can cover both, seamlessly: no gaps, no panic hiring, no budget surprises.

• Complex Surge Projects: A specialty warehouse development just landed on your desk. We can take the whole thing off your plate, or you decide: we handle the routine (water heaters, decks, re-roofs, etc.) while your team tackles the complex. Or vice versa.
  
  
• Succession Planning Support: You’ve got a talented team member who’s 1–2 years away from being ready to lead. We bring in a seasoned interim building official to guide the transition — mentoring internally while ensuring nothing stalls externally.

Building departments are economic engines. But only if they’re running.

When developers stall, cities lose momentum.  When timelines drag, costs rise.When leadership roles stay unfilled, risk multiplies.

SAFEbuilt’s building department services help communities stay resilient, agile, and future-ready, no matter what’s on the calendar.

We are not here to take over.

We are here to make sure your team never gets taken out of the game.

Let’s Talk

Need strategic coverage or surge support? Let’s find the right solution for your community.

Schedule a 5-min consultation with an expert

🎧 Catch the Podcast

Episode 5: Ghost Staff – When the Future Calls and No One Picks Up
Listen in as we explore real-world staffing gaps, clever workarounds, and why building departments are often the first to get cut — but the last place a city can afford to lose momentum.

Listen Now → click here