CLEVELAND, Tenn. - Cleveland and Bradley County should keep their planning, engineering and inspection offices separate but house them in the same location, a study group says.
Keith Holloway, chairman of the city-county study group, told Bradley County commissioners Monday that, "at a minimum," city planning and inspections and county planning, inspections and engineering be kept in the same place.
"It's also possible, if there's room, at some point to pull in (geographic information systems) and some of those other related functions," he said. The city and county also could explore using similar software, he said.
The group has been exploring whether to combine some city and county functions to save money and increase efficiency. Some other regional communities, including Chattanooga and Hamilton County, are taking similar looks.
County Mayor D. Gary Davis said neither government has space to house all those workers, and neither can afford to buy, lease or rent additional space.
"We didn't learn anything new, but we got justification for what we probably need to do anyway," Davis said. "So that's the dilemma we are in."
He said he and Cleveland City Manager Janice Casteel talked Monday about the study group's finding and promised to keep an open mind.
Davis said putting the city and county offices under one roof wouldn't save money but would make the services more convenient for the public.
County commissioners also said local septic inspections would be a suitable inclusion in a one-stop shop. Commissioners Howard Thompson and Lisa Stanbery said some builders have complained the state inspectors, who operate out of Chattanooga, take too long.
Davis said the county would not be allowed to take over inspections unless it showed that the program would support itself through fees.
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