BY TERRY FLYNN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
BURLINGTON -- The Boone County Building Inspections Department was cleared of allegations of wrongdoing in reports from the state Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction and the Boone County Police.
But the former building inspections department employee who leveled the charges said Monday that the investigations and reports were a cover-up.
The reports, released by Boone County Judge-executive Ken Lucas Monday, also cleared the county's chief building inspector, Jim Key.
Mr. Key and the department were blamed for mistakes and improprieties by a former employee of the department, Russell Cloyd.
County administrator Jim Collins said two separate investigations into Mr. Cloyd's allegations came to the same conclusion -- that "there is absolutely no evidence of wrongdoing by Boone County inspection officials."
The investigations reviewed 14 allegations by Mr. Cloyd of intentional wrongdoing or mistakes by the inspections department and Mr. Key.
In the state report, Jack Rhody, director of the division of building code enforcement, concluded that the county's building department "has done an excellent job in their efforts to build and maintain a well-trained and qualified staff."
He also stated that his investigation showed that mistakes were made and codes were misinterpreted, but he said "it would be unreasonable to expect any building inspection agency to be free of mistakes, especially where the volume of work is so large and the time to complete the task is so short."
He called for better documentation when decisions are made to accept alternatives, and Mr. Collins said the county is already in the first stages of implementing the state's recommendations. The county police investigation, conducted by Detective William Mark, involved many of the same allegations and came to the same conclusion -- that there was no evidence to substantiate the charges. In two similar examples, it was alleged that county officials either had not obtained proper permits for construction or had not paid the required permit fees. The investigation concluded that appropriate fees were paid and permits obtained as required. "I'm not surprised at the reports, but I'm mystified because I have the proof to back up my charges," Mr. Cloyd said Monday. "I expected them to cover this up."
He said that evidence would be forthcoming in the suit he filed against the county in U.S. District Court, charging that he was wrongfully dismissed from his job.
"I described years of mismanagement and non-enforcement of building codes, reporting them to Jim Collins and the judge-executive, and I was fired as a whistle-blower," he said.
