Answer the five questions.

Chapter 12 Building ! Inspector: Too Good to Be True "A man's ethical behavior should be based effectively on sympathy, education, and so- cial ties; no religious basis is necessary. Man would indeed be in a poor way if he had to be restrained by fear of punishment and hope of reward after death." -Albert Einstein Mayor Fred Tappan was optimistic and upbeat on the January day when he was sworn in as the leader of the small Midwestern city of Shadford. But on the second day, a serious problem confronted him. The city's young fire marshal, Bob Slauson, knocked on his door and said, "Ex- cuse me, sir. May I have a moment?" "Of course, Bob, good to meet you again. Come on in," the mayor said. Slauson asked if he could close the door. Tappan agreed. Slauson then informed the mayor about a recent fire at an apartment complex in the city. Tappan had heard rumors, but he was about to get the facts. Slauson told him that the fire had started accidentally in a kitchen in an upper floor apartment at the end of the building. The fire moved into the ceiling and then the attic area above, where it should have been contained. The attic had fire walls between groups of units. Unfortunately, a hole had been cut into the fire wall. The fire spread across the attic area and moved downward into each apartment unit before fire personnel received a call and 61Chapter 12 Building Inspector: Too Good to Be True 62 reached the blaze. It was daytime and almost all the residents were at work, so the call came late. The entire building was destroyed, but fortunately no one was hurt The building, like many others in the area, had recently undergone retrofitting for air conditioning. The company installing the air conditioning units cut holes in the fire walls in order to place air ducts to carry cool air from a central unit. The fire marshal showed Tappan the building inspector's report on the construction job. The report very clearly indicated that the holes in the fire wall had been filled in and the wall was fully capable of stopping movement of a major fire. To Tappan it was quite obvious that the building inspector had not physically inspected the construction job, or he was a liar. Tappan doubted the latter. Slauson concurred that it was a case of nonfeasance rather than malfeasance. Slauson added that Bob Eberbach, the building inspector, was 66 years old, that he had suffered two heart attacks, and that he was not comfortable climbing up tall ladders. Climbing to high places is a basic job requirement for building inspectors. The city's failure had directly resulted in a major fire resulting in property damage exceeding a million dollars. The damage was covered by insurance, but if the facts were generally known, the city could have been liable in a lawsuit that would cer- tainly have resulted in a major increase of insurance premiums paid by the city. Tappan and Slauson agreed that their focus should be on the future, although each was queasy about not revealing the circumstances of the fire publicly. They confided with each other that they would not hide the truth if an outside inquiry was made. At that point the chips would fall as they may. Their concern, however, was what to do about Eberbach. Put another way, how were they to get rid of the building inspector? Tappan quietly approached the city clerk, who was on the city commission, as was Tappan, and asked about the inspector's reputation. The clerk indicated that Eber- bach was well loved, especially by the building community-that could be easily ex- plained. The clerk added that the inspector had been with the city for over 30 years, and while he was physically slow and lacked energy, he was quite loyal to the city. Other city commissioners backed up the feeling that the inspector was a good em- ployee. Tappan realized that a direct confrontation leading to a removal from office was not the best approach, from a political standpoint, for removing the inspector He shared this view with Slauson, who agreed that the commissioners, especially the one who was a builder, liked Eberbach. He told Tappan he would think it over. Tap- pan, in the meantime, initiated a get-acquainted coffee meeting with Eberbach, where he very gently brought up the notion of retirement, asking Eberbach to tell him about the nature of the city's retirement system. The building inspector did so, but he added that retirement was certainly not in his plans, not at the moment any way. Tappan dropped that part of the discussion. A few days later, Slauson returned to Tappan's office. He said he had a strateg! and he would like to get Tappan's approval. Tappan agreed. The fire marshal in formed Eberbach that he was going to be following the building inspector as he did his rounds of inspections each day. He was going to get Eberbach's reports, and Slau son was going to check to make sure every point made in the reports was accurate, anBuilding Inspector: Too Good to Be True 63 that the reports were thorough. He told the inspector that he would be doing this competently. for as long as it took to be assured that the Eberbach was doing his job fully and It only took 2 weeks. In late January, Eberbach came to Tappan's office, and he said that their previous conversation had got him thinking about retirement, Indeed, he had gone to the city treasurer, and he had found out that his retirement salary with Social Security was over 90% of his salary. "Why, you know I am working full time and doing all this stuff for only 10% more than that. It just doesn't make sense. I'm thinking, maybe it's time to think about me." Tappan suggested that he would be missed, and that the city certainly appreciated the long years he had given to his job. Eberbach, said, "Now don't try to talk me out of it. I'm giving my notice." Tappan and Eberbach both smiled, and laughed, and shook hands. Tappan said, "You're not going without a party." They then agreed to a last date of work and a time for the good-bye party. After the conversation, Tappan immediately phoned the state senator for their county. The senator agreed to get a resolution passed by the senate the next week. The resolution of praise was ready for presentation at the party. The cake had thirty- one candles, one for each year Eberbach had been with the city. Inside, Tappan felt a cringe of hypocrisy give way to genuine feeling of thankfulness for Eberbach's service as he noted a tear in Eberbach's eye during several tributes. Tappan felt that by doing it right, the city was assured that Eberbach would not be coming back. Next, Tappan had a major problem: who would the city select to be the next build- ing inspector ? Tappan discussed the matter with Slauson and each of the city commissioners. A consensus developed that the city needed an energetic inspector who would make the builders toe the line. Even the builder on the commission agreed that the new guy should be ready to kick butt. The job was advertised in the state municipal af- fairs journal, and on the pages of newspapers in twelve major cities of the state. Soon the city had a small pile of applications. The commissioners agreed that Tappan, the clerk, and one of the commissioners would start interviewing. Ten candidates who lived within 20 miles of the city were called first. A marathon session lasting an en- tire day left the three basically exhausted and, to be frank, rather upset. No candi- date seemed appropriate. One applicant was the father of the fire chief. He had been in housing construction. But he had not passed either the electrical or the plumbing exams mandated by the state. He had passed the construction materials exam and he had assured the board that he was going to schedule the other examinations soon. The other applicants also were deficient. One had failed the electrical examination three times, but he was confident that he would pass it next time. He assured the board that it was one "hell of a test." Others had passed the electrical test but had failed the plumbing test. A couple had no experience at all in building. Only one had worked as an assistant building inspector. Several had dropped names of friends that had various connections to the city. And so it went all day long.64 Chapter 12 Building Inspect It was time to look at the out-of-town applicants. One looked promising on paper so he was invited to make a 200-mile trip from Morton, a city across the state. Joh' Angell's record showed that he had over 20 years experience as an internal building inspector for a large manufacturing firm in Morton. He had also taught construction courses at Morton Community College, and he was a consultant with the state con. struction board. He looked good on paper, and he didn't disappoint anyone on his personal interview. He looked really good. Tappan and the others asked him if he was willing to relocate soon to take a position with a salary that had to be less than he had received in industry. He assured them that he was ready to move next week if they wanted him. He also said that he had read the announcement and it had in. dicated a salary range. He would expect to be at the top of the range, but he was well aware of the salary possibilities and that he had applied for the job on his own-no one asked him to. Angell detailed his experience, which seemed to be very close to that required in the position of building inspector. He assured the city officials that when his company presented a job to the Morton city inspectors, it was his hide if anything-and he meant anything-did not pass muster. After the experience with the first ten applicants, the clerk had to ask about the exams. The clerk said, "We have these exams that a building inspector must pass- electrical, plumbing, construction materials. Have you passed the exams?" John Angell sort of laughed and said, "Well, I thought you read my application before you invited me in, but let me answer you anyway. In a word, the answer is Yes.' But maybe you want more than a word. My resume shows that I teach construc tion courses at Morton Community College. I teach courses to students who are seek- ing to pass the electrical, plumbing, and construction materials examinations. In a sense, I teach the examinations." He added, "But more than that, I work for the state construction board. I help the board design the examinations. Also, so you don't get the wrong idea, the exams are graded blindly-we don't know the name of the per- son taking the exam-but I grade the examinations for the state construction board. Back to the basic question-Yes, I have passed the exams. Moreover, if I do get this state board." job, I would request permission of the city to continue my consulting work with the Another question was asked about Angell's general health, his ability to climb ladders, and so forth. He answered the questions in a way that gave everyone confi- dence that he would be able to do the job. He also indicated that he was a by the book enforcer, that builders would have the same book of rules, and they would be expected to conform to each and every rule in the book. When Angell left, Tappan and his two colleagues gave a collective sigh. This guy was great. This guy was perfect. This guy was just too good. They all thought the same thing, "Was this guy just too good to be true?" All three agreed that he was their first choice, and that they should hire him as soon as possible. Nonetheless, the three agreed that Tappan would call each of his references. The references just made him seem better than he was at the interview. The di- rector of the state construction board gave him rave reviews. He indicated that theBuilding Inspector: Too Good to Be True 65 hoard had made several major changes in policies improving the construction atmos- There in the state precisely because of initiatives taken by Angell. The director in- sisted that he would like Angell to remain as their consultant and that the city would be honored to have him continuing in that role. The chairman of the construction de- partment at Morton Community College let out an expletive when Tappan informed him that Angell had applied for the Shadford job. "Hey, I'll make you a deal. If I say he stinks, will you pass him by? I don't want to lose him. He is the best instructor we have ever had-that goes back 20 years-in our department-the best!" And so it went. Angell was too good. Tappan talked to each member of the board, and they all were unanimous that Angell should be offered the job. But they still wanted to wait, they were not sure just for what, but they wanted some more assurances that things were in order. He was too good. Tappan was in a quandary, but he thought he should talk with Bob Slauson, the fire marshal, again. Slauson agreed that Angell was just too good. When Tappan asked if Slauson, who had law enforcement credentials, could use police resources to check him out further, he demurred. He indicated to Tappan that it would be illegal to do so. Besides, on his application, Angell indicated that he had never had any infractions of the law other than minor traffic offenses, and they had checked out his criminal record. He was clean. Slauson did indicate that he worked with fire marshals around the state, and although it wasn't proper, he could make a few private phone calls. Tappan told Slauson that if there was ever any trouble about him doing so, whether it was an ethical violation of technically a legal violation, Slauson was authorized to say that he was ordered by Tappan to make the calls. Tappan even wrote a short memo that Slauson could hold on to say- ing just that. Slauson made some calls. The next day he came to Tappan's office with a big smile. "You have your man. He is good, good, good, for the job." Slauson then indi- cated several problem areas unrelated to the job. Angell had gone through a bitter divorce, and he really wanted to leave town, because both he and his wife had too many mutual friends, and his grown children were getting into the middle of bad sit- uations constantly. Perhaps the divorce had origins in his drinking behavior. Angell was an alcoholic. He didn't drink on the job, but drink-related problems caused him to lose his position with the manufacturing company. He was in the midst of a law- suit over his firing. He was an alcoholic, but he did not drink. He was a group leader in Alcoholics Anonymous. He counseled others to stop drinking. He had been dry for 7 years. Slauson also found out that Angell had a girlfriend. She lived just a few miles out of Shadford. She, too, had been though a divorce. Her former husband was quite affluent, and she had ample resources to support herself and also Angell if necessary. So Angell's salary was not an issue. What was an issue was the fact that he was driving a 400-mile round trip each week to see his girlfriend. Tappan was extremely discreet as he shared this information selectively. The girl- friend item was all that some commissioners needed to know, and that was told to them confidentially. The clerk heard the whole story and with a nod he let othersChapter 12 Building Inspector: Too Good to Be True 66 know that Angell was O.K. He was hired at the maximum salary authorized in the job announcement. Angell was not a disappointment. He was energetic. He was a refreshing part of the city hall scene. He soon introduced all the officials and staff to his fiancee. Four month later they were married. While he was not a disappointment, not everyone loved Angel) He went by the book, and he started noting multiple violations for one building project after another. In one case, he made a builder pull out over forty 22-inch-wide windows from an apartment project because the code called for 26-inch-wide windows. Com- plaints started rolling in to the city mayor's office. Complaints came in to each commis- sioner. The commission was empowered to review such complaints and change them. But in every case the commission voted six to zero, with one abstention from the builder-commissioner, in favor of Angell. He was simply right in every case. While the word was getting around, complaints continued to flow in. The commis- sion decided to utilize a state statute that allowed them to appoint a building inspec- tor board of appeals just so they could pass the business on to others. The appeals board sided with Angell every time. Gradually the complaints subsided. Then a strange thing happened. Several calls came to Tappan's office. They were builders who were praising Angell. The gist of the calls went something like this: "You got a great building inspector with Angell. You know that so-in-so that builds down the street has been cheating for years? I can't compete if you allow him to cheat the way he's been doing. But, boy, I'll tell you, Angell has stopped him cold. We all love him. Keep him; he's a winner." Six months into the job, Angell was given a 20% merit pay raise, and Tappan told him to pick out a new car-a car was part of the compensation package. He didn't buy an expensive car, but it had a sporty look-a car his new wife would be happy riding in. Angell remained active as a consultant with the state construction board and the city received kudos for allowing him time off for state duties. Angell was ac- tive in a state building association, and he invited Tappan to a state meeting. At the meeting Tappan offered to buy Angell a drink. Angell asked for tomato juice; Tap- pan had a beer. The city also allowed Angell to teach a course each term at nearby Packard Com- munity College. Tappan also found out indirectly that Angell was involved in lead- ing a local chapter of Alcoholics Anonymous. The next year Tappan found out that Eberbach, the old building inspector, had taken a job as the inspector for a smaller city in the next county. Tappan was relieved that he had not been asked to make a recommendation. Questions 1. Should the city officials have revealed the truth about the apartment fire and accepted the adverse consequences of a bad insurance rating if they were held liable for the damages?Questions 67 2. Should Angell have been asked questions about his personal life even though it would have violated personnel policy and even the law? 3. Should the fire marshal have made calls to friends regarding Angell's per- sonal life? 4. Should Angell have been told that Tappan and Slauson had checked out his background? 5. Should the commissioners have been given all the extraneous facts about Angell's background? 6. Should Tappan have offered to buy Angell a drink at the state conference knowing what he knew about Angell's alcoholism