Still in disaster mode

It's been 15 years since the privatized building inspector system has been in operation. It was supposed to be a temporary response to Katrina but disasters never really go away.  And the legacy they leave is the emergency improvisation after one disaster becomes routine procedure during the next one. Eventually it just becomes the de-facto policy. Like, one could imagine now a suggestion to do away with the city inspector altogether and just farm the whole thing out permanently.  Never mind the inherent problems with that which we can spot in this description.

To keep projects moving forward, it seems that an increasing number of contractors are now pulling from a list of dozens of state fire marshall-approved third party inspectors, which contractors pay for.

One of the leading third party inspectors in the region, says they have seen a business uptick, in part because of the shortage of city inspectors. And many contractor say, 'no problem'.

“I will always use a third party inspector, it may cost, but i don’t have to wait,” said one contractor who asked not to be identfied.

Contractors say there are many advantages to using a third party inspector. Mainly they say, they can avoid scheduling problems like the one occurring right now, with the city permits office completely dark and shut down due to the cyber attack.

"They can get out there, and get it done, and they seem more proficient with codes, and what's going on," said Erdman.

The state approved the use of third party inspectors, 15 years ago.

"After katrina, we knew that different municipalities, would be short of personnel," said Luther.

Now, those third party inspectors are finding plenty of work, as the city moves to hire at least a half dozen new inspectors.

But, when the regulatory regime is riddled with corruption anyway, you can turn the whole thing over to private, for-profit interests and nobody bats an eye.  It's a familiar cycle and one that only becomes more profitable with each successive failure. Which is how disaster has gotten to be such a growth industry.

"Look, man, after this disaster there is big money!" -Ray Nagin