Controller: L&I chief should be dismissed

City Controller Alan Butkovitz called for the dismissal of Department of Licenses and Inspections Commissioner Carlton Williams, saying Williams has failed to improve the beleaguered department.

"It is time to appoint new leadership," Butkovitz said at a news conference Wednesday.

The controller said L&I "continues to jeopardize public safety" by allowing uncertified employees to conduct building inspections, relying on an antiquated computer system that is open to tampering, and moving too slow to eliminate unsafe buildings.

Butkovitz's stance on Williams represented the first time in memory that a controller has called for the dismissal of a top administrative official.

Mayor Nutter, who has three months left in his term, defended Williams, saying he will continue as the head of the department.

"I have full confidence in the work that he is doing, the changes that he is trying to make," Nutter told reporters outside of his office. "The commissioner is doing a fine job in trying to transform an important public agency here in the city."

Williams stood with Nutter as the mayor spoke, but took no questions. Nutter said he would answer reporters' queries for the two of them.

Nutter labeled Butkovitz's call for Williams' dismissal "outrageous" and "misguided."

Democratic mayor nominee Jim Kenney, who will likely be the next mayor given the city's 7-1 Democratic registration edge, has previously said he would replace Williams as L&I commissioner.

Since the June 2013 fatal Salvation Army thrift collapse in Center City, the administration has attempted to put safety measures in place to prevent a similar incident. Butkovitz has released several reports since then that allege there are still flaws in how L&I operates.

Many of those reports have followed stories in The Inquirer that have outlined L&I failures, including construction completed without inspections, unpermitted demolitions, and uncertified building inspectors.

In calling for Williams' resignation, Butkovitz said that L&I management put up "huge resistance" to inquiries from his office, which was compelled to subpoena documents that the agency had not turned over.

The controller found that seven months after his office sent city officials a list of 100 dangerous properties, some of those properties are still standing and in worse condition than before.

"If you can't get imminently dangerous buildings torn down in 30 days when you've had two years . . . then what are you doing in the department that is worth your stewardship," Butkovitz said.

Nutter said that L&I has worked to greatly reduce the number of dangerous properties. An L&I count shows that there are 271 dangerous properties in the city, down from 628 in 2013.

One of the biggest points of contention between both sides is the current computer system known as Hansen. Butkovitz criticized the system for allowing employees to go in and erase or write over notes.

"It is chaos," Butkovitz said.

Nutter said the new computer system, eClipse, will be fully operational by next spring. The controller later responded that the administration continues to push the deadline.

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