Building Inspector

The Building Inspector (Inspector of Buildings) enforces the building code and zoning by-law and issues building permits. Billerica voted building by-laws providing for a building inspector appointed by the selectmen at the 1916 and 1917 annual Town Meetings, but the Attorney General did not approve them because the town had not accepted Chapter 655 of the Acts of 1913; the town accepted that act in 1919 and amended its by-laws again in 1920. The first inspector named in the town reports is Joseph P. Meaney, listed from 1922, the year the town also accepted Chapter 143, Section 3 of the General Laws.

The post was part-time (a $100 salary) until mid-century; in the 1950s it was combined for a time with plumbing inspection. From 1976 to 1984 the town reports style the officer Building Commissioner (and Energy Conservation Manager); from 1985 the reports list the office as Inspector of Buildings, while the holder also signs as Building Commissioner. The current holder, Mark LaLumiere (since 2010), also signs as Director of Permitting.