(A) Electrical Inspector; powers and duties.
(1) The Building Commissioner shall serve as Electrical Inspector for the town to enforce and administer state and local law relating to electrical work.
(2) The Electrical Inspector shall not engage in, or have a pecuniary interest in, any business of electrical contracting, either directly or indirectly, which operates in the jurisdiction of the Electrical Inspector.
(B) Electrical contractor’s license required; exemption.
(1) No person, firm or corporation shall engage in the business of installing, or altering within the town any electrical wiring, devices or equipment when such installation, or alteration work requires a permit, unless such person, or a person employed within the firm or corporation, shall have received an electrical contractor’s license and certificate thereof.
(2) Nothing in these rules and regulations shall be construed to prevent a person who owns and occupies a single- or two-family residence from securing an electrical permit, when required by division (H) below, for work in the residence or in other buildings on the property where the residence is located.
(C) License classifications. Two classes of license shall be issued by the Board of Electrical Examiners: Class I - Master Electrician and Class II- Journeyman Electrician.
(1) A Class I Master Electrician License shall entitle the license holder to install, repair, alter, add to or change any electrical wires, fixtures, appliances, apparatus, raceways, conduit or any part thereof, which generates, transmits, transforms or utilizes electrical energy in any form for light, heat, power or communications. A Master Electrician may secure permits for the installation or alteration of any electrical wiring, devices or equipment. The holder of such a license may either do the work or employ a Class II Journeyman. If a Class I Master employs a non-license holder for the purpose of installing or altering electrical devices or equipment, the non-license holder shall require the direct on-the-job supervision of a Class I Master or a Class II Journeyman at all times when the non-licensed holder is at work. Any individual who makes application for a Class I license must have worked for a period of at least two years as a Class II Journeyman and have worked a minimum of 4,000 hours.
(2) A Class II Journeyman Electrician shall entitle the license holder to undertake the work of installing, or altering electrical wiring, devices and equipment in the employ of a Class I Master Electrician. Any individual who makes application for a Journeyman’s license must show written proof of having worked full-time as an apprentice electrician or in an equivalent position, for a period of two years or 4,000 hours.
(D) Application for electrical license; reciprocity; examination of applicants.
(1) Application. Application for an electrical license shall be made to the Board of Electrical Examiners on a form provided by the Department. The application shall be accompanied by written proof of required experience acceptable to the Board of Electrical Examiners. Paycheck stubs, payroll records and/or other electrical licenses held by the applicant shall be acceptable written proof of experience.
(2) Reciprocity.
(a) Any applicant who holds a current electrical license from a jurisdiction other than the county (out of area license) wherein the Prometric Electrical Exam was taken to obtain the license, or wherein a comparable exam was taken to obtain the license, may be exempt from the requirement of taking the license examination as required in division (D)(3) below. Any interpretation of whether an out of area license examination qualifies for reciprocity shall be made by the Board of Electrical Examiners. A record of those out of area licenses or examinations which are accepted for reciprocity shall be maintained by the Department.
(b) Any applicant who holds an out of area license which is accepted for reciprocity shall submit the required proof of experience to the Board of Electrical Examiners as required in division (D)(1) above.
(c) If an out of area license qualifies for reciprocity, all license fees for the issuance of a comparable license under this section shall be due and payable in the same manner as all other such licenses.
(3) Examination.
(a) Application for a license shall include a $50 fee paid to the Department. Once the fee is paid, the application will be reviewed by the Board of Electrical Examiners to determine if the qualifications required to obtain the license requested have been met. If met, the Department will certify the applicant as eligible to take the applicable Prometric Electrical Exam.
(b) License examination shall be administered by Prometric, and all applicable examination fees shall be paid to Prometric.
(E) Board of Electrical Examiners established; meetings.
(1) Establishment.
(a) There is hereby established a Board of Electrical Examiners which shall consist of the following members:
1. Electrical Inspector;
2. Two Class I or Class II contractors, one appointed by the Mayor and one appointed by the county’s Board of Commissioners; and
3. Two citizen members, one appointed by the Mayor and one appointed by the county’s Board of Commissioners.
(b) Appointments shall serve at the pleasure of the Mayor and the Board of County Commissioners, as the case may be, and shall be for a term of one year. Appointed Board members may be removed by the appointing authority with or without cause.
(2) Meetings.
(a) For the purpose of reviewing applications, grading examinations and conducting general business, the Board will meet on an as-needed basis in the Department office.
(b) The Electrical Inspector may call special meetings of the Board for the purpose of examining applicants for licenses or transacting other business.
(c) Three members of the Board of Electrical Examiners present at any meeting shall constitute a quorum and a majority vote of members present shall be required for official action.
(F) Issuance of license; fees; renewal.
(1) Upon proper application and successful completion of the examination, an appropriate certificate of license shall be issued to the applicant by the Board of Electrical Examiners. The certificate shall be valid until January 1 of the following year. The examination fee includes the cost of the license for the year in which the first certificate of license was issued. If the license was issued due to reciprocity, the license fee for the year of issuance shall be $20.
(2) (a) Each certificate of license, and any renewal, shall be valid for a period of one year and shall expire on January 1 each year. Any license may be renewed by written request to the Department by the licensee at any time within 30 days from the date of expiration. No electrical permits will be issued to, or on account of, any electrical contractor with an expired license.
(b) The annual renewal fee for any license issued shall be $20.
(c) A penalty of $20 may be assessed for any renewal requested and issued after expiration. No license shall be renewed without re-examination if the license has been expired for more than two years.
(3) All Class I contractors shall provide a certificate of liability insurance for a minimum of $1,000,000. No permit will be issued without a certificate of insurance on file with the Department which states a policy term that includes the expected work period for the permit.
(4) No license or certificate issued in accordance with the provisions of this division (F) shall be assignable or transferable.
(G) License to be available at job site. An appropriate certificate of license shall be available for inspection on each job site by the Electrical Inspector. The Electrical Inspector may issue a stop work order on a job site until the ce1tificate is made available to the Electrical Inspector for inspection.
(H) Electrical permit required. An electrical permit shall be obtained for:
(1) Construction of new Class 1 structures, Class 2 structures and agricultural buildings;
(2) Construction of additions to Class 1 and Class 2 structures;
(3) Construction of accessory structures and additions to accessory structures, when electrical wiring, devices or equipment are installed;
(4) Class 1 structure interior renovations;
(5) Upgrade of service, installation of new service entrance conductor or relocation of service entrance conductor;
(6) Temporary service connection;
(7) Connection of service to a manufactured or mobile home;
(8) Replacement of service panel; and
(9) Installation of a generator which connects directly to the electrical utility.
(I) Permit application; issuance.
(1) All applications for electrical permits shall be filed with the Department on forms provided by the Department. The application shall be accompanied by such plans, specifications and schedules as may be necessary to determine compliance with applicable law.
(2) (a) No permit for the installation or alteration of any electric wiring, devices or equipment shall be issued to any person, firm or corporation unless such person, or a person employed within the firm or corporation, is the holder of a license entitled to secure permits for and to execute the work described in the application for the permit. Application for electrical permits shall be signed by the individual who holds the license. The license holder may submit to the Department a signed affidavit listing those individuals authorized to sign an application on their behalf.
(b) A person who owns and occupies a single- or two-family residence may secure an electrical permit, when required by division (H) below, for work in the residence, or in other buildings located on the property where the residence is located.
(3) Upon receipt of the completed application, and payment of permit fees as required and, if the proposed project otherwise conforms to applicable law, an electrical permit shall be issued in the name of the applicant.
(4) A permit, when issued, shall be for such installation as is described in the application and no deviation shall be made from the installation so described without the approval of the Electrical Inspector.
(5) If the work described in the electrical permit has not been fully completed within two years of the date of issuance, the permit shall expire. Further work shall not proceed unless a new permit is obtained.
(J) Electrical permit fee schedule.
(1) All applicants for electrical permits shall, prior to the issuance of such permit, pay fees as outlined in the electrical permit fee schedule, as adopted and amended by the Town Council.
(2) Should any work which requires a permit commence prior to said permit being issued, the regular permit fee shall be doubled. Violations of this division (J) are in addition to other remedies and penalties herein provided.
(K) Electrical inspections.
(1) The Electrical Inspector shall be responsible for the completion of all required inspections which shall be indicated on the permit card.
(2) The permittee shall contact the Department and schedule an inspection when work, for which an inspection is required or requested by the Electrical Inspector, is complete, and such notice shall be given 24 hours before an inspection is requested.
(3) The Department shall endeavor to schedule all inspections as requested; however, priority is given to inspections which involve an immediate life safety issue and on a first call-in basis.
(4) When any part of a wiring installation is to be hidden from view by permanent placement of parts of the building, no parts of the wiring installation shall be concealed until they have been inspected and approved by the Electrical Inspector. On large installations, the person, firm or corporation installing the wiring may request the Electrical Inspector to complete periodic inspections of the work to allow the concealment of electrical work which has passed inspection.
(5) The Department may assess a re-inspection fee for requested inspections, not cancelled at least three hours prior to the earliest scheduled time requested for an inspection, where work is not completed by the time requested for inspection or for work not in compliance with applicable law.
(6) The Electrical Inspector shall note the passing of each inspection, or the deficiencies and/or corrective work required, on the building permit card at the time of inspection. A re-inspection shall be requested by the permittee once corrective work is completed and must pass inspection prior to any additional work being completed which would require a separate inspection. An approval sticker will be placed on all electrical equipment needing electrical power hook-up which has passed inspection. No service connection is permitted without an inspection sticker or approval from the Electrical Inspector.
(L) Reconnection of power; condemnation of electrical installation.
(1) It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to make service connection from a source of supply of electrical energy to any electrical wiring, devices or equipment which has been disconnected or ordered disconnected by the Electrical Inspector. The Electrical Inspector, in cases of emergency, shall be the only individual authorized to order a reconnection of power. If an emergency connection is made on a Saturday, Sunday, legal holiday or as a result of severe storm damage, such connection shall be reported to the Electrical Inspector for inspection within five business days after the connection. If such notification is not reported to the Electrical Inspector within five business days after connection, the permit fee shall be doubled.
(2) When the Electrical Inspector condemns all or part of any electrical installation the owner may, within five days after receiving written notice from the Electrical Inspector, file a petition in writing for review of the action of the Electrical Inspector with the Board of Electrical Examiners, upon receipt of which the Board shall at once proceed to determine whether the electrical installation complies with this section and within five days make a decision in accordance with its findings.
(M) Liability. This section shall not be construed to relieve from or lessen the responsibility or liability of any person, firm or corporation owning, operating, controlling or installing any electric wiring, devices or equipment for damages to person or property caused by a defect therein, nor shall the county or town assume any such liability by reason of the inspection authorized herein, or certificate of approval issued as herein provided or the license and certificate issued as herein provided.
(N) Enforcement; revocation of license. The Electrical Inspector may issue all order requiring action relative to any electrical work, and may revoke an electrical license upon a determination that the license holder willfully or repeatedly violated any applicable state or local law relating to electrical work.
(Ord. 2017-6, passed 9-5-2017)