West Stockbridge — The town’s Finance Committee unanimously approved recommending all but one fiscal year 2026 budget appropriation item for the town warrant in advance of the municipality’s May 5 Annual Town Meeting. The sticking point? An almost $31,000 year-over-year increase in the cost for providing inspection services to its residents and businesses.
Currently, Brian Duval serves as the town’s zoning enforcement officer and building inspector, with that service budgeted at $20,375 for fiscal year 2025. On February 18, West Stockbridge Select Board members approved Town Administrator Marie Ryan to sign a three-year contract that would replace the services provided by Duval with a shared-services program with the towns of Great Barrington, Lee, Lenox, and Stockbridge. That contract has since been signed but requires the approval of residents at a town meeting to fund the action.
The Select Board first discussed the issue on January 8.
At a cost of $51,200 for fiscal year 2026, or about $31,000 more than fiscal year 2025, the fee for the shared-services agreement would include full-time inspector coverage should one inspector leave on vacation or for an extended period, administrative services, and a building commissioner to address larger projects and political issues.
According to Stockbridge Town Administrator Michael Canales who attended the Finance Committee’s April 10 meeting in conjunction with the West Stockbridge Select Board, the current shared-services agreement started with discussions between officials of the four towns about a year ago. The joint program was intended “to create efficiencies” by coordinating commissioners and inspectors, with one inspector assigned to Lee and Lenox, one assigned to Great Barrington, and one assigned to Stockbridge. In the fall, the group found they could add one more town to the program without bringing on another inspector, Canales said. The town administrators of the four members invited their colleagues from other municipalities to a meeting “to see which towns would be possibly interested to join together,” he said. Representatives from four additional towns—Becket, New Marlborough, Sheffield, and West Stockbridge—advised that their communities would be interested in joining the group’s shared building department, Canales said.
The logistics between Stockbridge and West Stockbridge allowed the latter to rise to the top of applicants for the program. Stockbridge is and will continue to be the lead town in the group, and each community will continue to set their own building fees.
“What this program brings is enhanced services across the board,” Canales said.
Residents, business owners, and town officials approached the dais, praising the work of Duval who would be out of a job with West Stockbridge should residents pass the measure over the Finance Committee’s objections. They also stated a preference to have this position filled by an individual who locally serves the town of West Stockbridge.
“It’s a small town with small town services,” said resident Wayne Cooper. “That’s what we are, a small town, and keep it a small town instead of [adding a] community because when we have a community thing, it seems like we end up with the short end of a stick.”
Planning Board Chair Dana Bixby spoke in favor of keeping the current inspection program in light of the additional cost of the shared-services contract. “In the last 15 years, our experience as individuals, professionals who deal in the building industry and as members of the Planning Board, we have a very good relationship working with Brian [Duval]—very happy with his services to the town,” she said.
Bixby stated she was prepared to ask at the town meeting for this line item to be tabled. “The Planning Board would ask that you folks take some action to steer this in a different direction,” she said.
Duval advocated against the Finance Committee recommending the contract to voters, stating that he takes phone calls “at any hour” and pursuing such a program “is just a waste of the town’s money.”
Zoning Board of Appeals Chair Randy Thunfors, who is a licensed contractor, pushed back on the Finance Committee recommending the new program, citing a net loss to the town and questioning how such a budget item and corresponding signed contract came to be. He called Duval “a tremendous asset to our board” for zoning and building code issues.
Finance Committee Chair Robert Salerno responded that the committee was unaware of the contract for shared inspection services signed by Ryan at the Select Board’s direction. “Just to be clear on that, we didn’t know about this,” he said. “There was a line on the budget but no further discussion.”
Select Board Chair Andrew Potter suggested that an audit be conducted, weighing the current inspection services benefits with those of the shared services to determine the impact from permit fees that offset the salary or cost of the program. Salerno said permit fees fall under the general fund and are not allocated to one department, with no time available to conduct such an audit before the town meeting.
Potter cited developing West Stockbridge as a “potential partner in other regional activities” and professionalizing town governance as reasons to move forward with the shared inspection services agreement. He noted that other towns pursued the contract West Stockbridge was offered. “Having been asked to join as part of it and the four towns that are currently part of this effort shows West Stockbridge is a partner as opposed to at least three other towns that wanted to get in,” Potter said. “I have a feeling it would carry forward to other possibilities [in the region].”
The contract apportions the cost of the program for each town based on a three-year average number of building permits, Canales said, a stumbling point for Thunfors, who voiced concern that the agreement was being used to subsidize the services of the other partner municipalities “that have lots of building issues.”
West Stockbridge currently averages 119 building permits annually, while Great Barrington averages 377 building permits, Lee averages 277 building permits, Lenox averages 282 building permits, and Stockbridge averages 211 building permits, Canales said. “You’re buying into the department, all of the commissioners, all of the inspectors,” he said. “One will be your partner and contact, but all of them are available. That’s how we set it up.”
Committee Member Frank Landsberger said the group’s “hands were tied” by the signed contract, an issue rejected by the dais and committee member Ed Sporn, who came out strongly against recommending the shared inspection services. “I understand the regionalization argument and, clearly, we are doing that for fire and ambulance … but here we have a situation where we actually have a person who does a great job, and I see no reason to change course at this point in time,” Sporn said.
For Salerno, the issue doesn’t turn on Duval’s performance. “Te question is, is $30,000 better, faster, or cheaper—are we going to get greater services or not,” he said. “I haven’t heard anything yet that tells me we’re going to get greater service.”
The Berkshire Edge requested Select Board meeting video recordings from January 8 (not listed on the town website) and February 18 (error message) but did not receive a response by press time.
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