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Building Permit Technician 1

Category: Classified/Excluded 
Pay Grade: C15 
Job Code: 12002  

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform the essential job functions satisfactorily.  Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the primary job functions herein described.  Since every duty associated with this position may not be described herein, employees may be required to perform duties not specifically spelled out in the job description, but which may be reasonably considered to be incidental in the performing of their duties just as though they were actually written out in this job description.  

JOB SUMMARY 

This is entry level paraprofessional technical, and heavy public contact work with responsibility for representing the customer relations interests of Pinellas County in the receipt, coordination, and issuance of approvals for Pinellas County applications focusing primarily on commercial construction permits. Tasks require continuous public and interoffice contacts with applicants and staff on inter-department and inter-agency building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing/gas, public safety, environment and miscellaneous code requirements or considerations. The position coordinates and supports the general and overall tabulation of detailed records processes that support the commercial construction building applications and approval process. Employees in this class are responsible for collecting, organizing, and communicating policies to the public on commercial building permits. Work requires the exercise of independent judgment in resolving routine issues, with complex technical problems being referred to supervision, with recommended courses of action. The incumbent reports to a supervisor or designee. 

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS (examples, not all inclusive) 

• Communicates with customers and applicants for commercial building permits;  
• Receives and performs a cursory general review of commercial permit applications on behalf of the building department;  
• Assists other staff in record keeping processes as the department’s focal point for receipt, tracking, and reporting on the status of commercial permit applications;  
• Maintains manual application files and electronic tracking systems related to applications; 
• Routes and retrieves relevant contents of permit applications to and from multiple county officials and outside agency officials responsible for review, concurrence, and appropriate follow-up actions; 
• Contacts applicants and replies to applicants’ inquiries about the status of commercial construction permit applications; 
• Assists contractors by responding to requests for applications and offers instruction on how to complete permit application packages answering inquiries regarding permits, requirements, fees, and overall permit processes;  
• Refers applicants’ questions to technical and professional staff responsible for subject matter reviews; 
• Produces list of customer fees, receives payments and issues receipts, balances daily receipts, as well as completes deposit slips and daily reports;  
• Coordinates review processes and obtains approvals from various county and state entities in expediting the issuance of permits;  
• Operates a personal computer for data entry and retrieval and routine information terminal operations; 
• Receives guidance and completes training to develop the capability to perform more advanced assignments and tasks;  
• Performs other related job duties as assigned. 

QUALIFICATIONS 

Education and Experience: 

High School diploma or an acceptable equivalency diploma (GED); three (3) years of experience in public contact assignments directly related to processing residential, building, and construction permit approval; or Associate’s degree or vocational training with coursework in business, public administration, management, engineering, planning, or a related field and 1 year experience as described above; or an equivalent combination of education, training and/or experience.   

Special Qualifications (May be required depending on area of assignment): 

• Florida Driver’s License or Florida Commercial Driver’s License and endorsement, if any. 
• Assignment to work a variety of work schedules including compulsory work periods in special, emergency, and/or disaster situations. 
• Candidate to demonstrate more advanced proficiency, competency, and satisfactory completion of regularly assigned work in an independent manner. Appointing Authority retains discretion to employ an incumbent at this level or advance the incumbent non-competitively or competitively after a candidate meets the minimum qualifications to an in-line career ladder position within the same organization or department. 
• Other highly desirable knowledge, skills, abilities, and credentials required for a specific position. 

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:  

• Knowledge of the county’s commercial common building, electrical, plumbing, mechanical, and other code requirements; 
• Knowledge of basic construction drawings, blueprints, and maps; 
• Knowledge of Business English, arithmetic and spelling; 
• Ability to apply computer applications and software; 
• Ability to meet the public using tact, communication skills and job knowledge to assist with applications and answer inquiries; 
• Ability to explain common codes and requirements for building permits to citizens, both in person and by telephone; 
• Ability to maintain clear and accurate records and to make difficult arithmetical computations accurately; 
• Ability to operate a personal computer and other automated systems to enter and retrieve information, monitor work performed, and to communicate information in reports; 
• Ability to perform mathematical computations, analyze data, and prepare reports based on findings, and communicate technical information, orally or in writing, in a manner understandable to contractors, consultants, superiors, staff personnel, and the public; 
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with engineering community, superiors, fellow employees, and public. 

PHYSICAL/MENTAL DEMANDS 

This work requires exerting up to 20 pounds of force occasionally, and/or up to 10 pounds of force to move objects.  Additionally, the following physical abilities are required:  

• Balancing: Maintaining body equilibrium to prevent falling while walking, standing or crouching on narrow, slippery, or erratically moving surfaces. The amount of balancing exceeds that needed for ordinary locomotion and maintenance of body equilibrium. 
• Climbing: Ascending or descending ladders, stairs, scaffolding, ramps, poles and the like, using feet and legs and/or hands and arms. Body agility is emphasized. 
• Crawling: Moving about on hands and knees or hands and feet. 

• Crouching: Bending the body downward and forward by bending leg and spine. 
• Feeling: Perceiving attributes of objects, such as size, shape, temperature or texture by touching with skin, particularly that of fingertips. 
• Fingering: Picking, pinching, typing, or otherwise working, primarily with fingers rather than with the whole hand as in handling. 
• Grasping: Applying pressure to an object with the fingers and palm. 
• Handling: Picking, holding, or otherwise working, primarily with the whole hand. 

• Hearing: Perceiving the nature of sounds at normal speaking levels with or without correction. Ability to receive detailed information through oral communication, and to make the discrimination in sound. 
• Kneeling: Bending legs at knee to come to a rest on knee or knees. 
• Lifting: Raising objects from a lower to a higher position or moving objects horizontally from position-to-position. Occurs to a considerable degree and requires substantial use of upper extremities and back muscles. 
• Mental acuity: Ability to make rational decisions through sound logic and deductive processes. 
• Pulling: Using upper extremities to exert force in order to draw, haul or tug objects in a sustained motion. 
• Pushing: Using upper extremities to press against something with steady force in order to thrust forward, downward or outward. 
• Reaching: Extending hand(s) and arm(s) in any direction. 
• Repetitive motion: Substantial movements (motions) of the wrist, hands, and/or fingers. 
• Speaking: Expressing or exchanging ideas by means of the spoken word including the ability to convey detailed or important spoken instructions to other workers accurately and concisely. 
• Standing: Particularly for sustained periods of time. 
• Stooping: Bending body downward and forward by bending spine at the waist. Occurs to a considerable degree and requires full motion of the lower extremities and back muscles. 
• Talking: Expressing or exchanging ideas by means of the spoken word including those activities in which they must convey detailed or important spoken instructions to other workers accurately, loudly, or quickly. 
• Visual acuity: Have close visual acuity such as color differentiation, depth perception, and adequate field vision. 
• Walking: Moving about on foot to accomplish tasks, particularly for long distances or moving from one work site to another. 

WORKING CONDITIONS 

Work is performed in a relatively safe, secure, and stable work environment.