The personnel crisis at the construction office was further exacerbated by the mass departure of officials

It is not clear what is behind the mass resignations of experienced officials. The office is now in danger of not being able to fulfill its agenda and the surrounding municipalities would have to help.

“Problems with a lack of experts for building authorities are long-standing, but I would say that behind the mass departure of people from the Šumper building authority is the bad personnel policy of the city office,” says an employee of the town hall, who did not wish to give his name, but is well acquainted with the situation.

The secretary of the municipal office, Helena Miterková, does not talk about the reasons for the mass departure. “Submitting notice of employment is the right of every employee. This is a private matter and the Šumperk Municipal Office has no right to comment on a private decision,” she said.

According to her, the staff shortage in construction authorities has been going on for many years. Nevertheless, within a few months it was possible to recruit four new employees for the Šumper building authority.

“The state allowed the devaluation of the remuneration of public administration employees. The situation is the most critical for building authorities, because according to the qualification requirements of the Building Act, a new employee, who must be a lawyer, architect or civil engineer, who cannot be credited with experience, starts for 23,390 crowns. For such a starting salary, candidates do not apply for tenders or terminate their employment during the trial period,” Miterková explained.

Conflicts with clients

At the same time, he points out that an unsatisfactory situation leads to overwork, dissatisfaction of employees and conflicts between them and clients.

Officials then leave for better conditions. According to her, this is compounded by the great uncertainty associated with the changes that will take place from July 1 this year, when the new construction law will come into effect. It will change the building permit process, and building authorities fear it will be even more complicated than at present.

It is interesting, however, that similar problems are not solved at the building authorities in neighboring municipalities with extended powers. “The state of the employees at our construction office is stabilized and we have no signs that anyone is leaving,” said Ilona Čadílková, the secretary of the Uničov town hall, for example.

The municipal authorities in Mohelnice or Zábřeh expressed themselves similarly. “I’m not hiding that the situation regarding construction agendas is not tense, but it’s all the more necessary to work with people,” said Zábřež mayor František John.

Who will help with the agenda?

The superior authority for building authorities in the region is the Olomouc Regional Office, which monitors the situation in Šumperk.

“However, we do not have specific information on whether and how the building authority manages the execution of the agenda, as the relevant workers are still on notice. So far, except for one case, we have not received any suggestions regarding the inactivity of the building office,” said regional office spokeswoman Alena Minxová.

According to her, the possibilities of the regional office are limited. “Personnel security for the operation of the office is the responsibility of the city. If the situation requires it, it is possible for the building authority to extend the deadline for handling the case, or it is possible to delegate specific proceedings to another building authority,” Minxová explained.

Statutory periods are 60 to 90 days. “The time by which we can extend the deadline is not specifically determined by law, but it should be a reasonable extension, usually by 30 to 60 days,” described the spokeswoman.

“The delegation of the matter to another building authority is used either in the case where it is already clear from the beginning that extending the deadline would not help the building authority in any way, or if it is a repeated request or initiative in the same matter. Only then will we entrust the handling of that specific matter to another building authority,” she clarified.

However, the option of helping other construction authorities runs into their high workload. “The long-lasting bad staffing situation at the building authority in Šumperk, combined with the need to delegate management elsewhere, can lead to an overload of the surrounding building authorities,” warned Minxová.

The building authorities in the surrounding municipalities with extended powers are familiar with the situation at the Šumper building office – including the fact that, if necessary, they would have to take over part of the agenda. “We would try to accommodate, but I believe that Šumperk will be able to handle it,” said Jana Krasulová, secretary of Zábřež town hall.