The inspector's office has been the primary target of some frustrated homeowners the past few weeks, who say their houses shouldn't have passed inspection.

The chief inspector, Dennis Morris, said he and his staff of two have struggled to keep up with the housing growth and inspect all homes under construction in a timely manner. Another assistant building inspector will start work next week.

After the meeting, a few council members said they want to see if the new inspector can reduce some of the workload before creating new positions. Council members earlier agreed not to hire any more employees because of budget issues.

During the meeting, Morris told council members the office had three employees in 1988 when it issued 195 building permits. Last year, it issued 896 building permits with three employees.

Morris also explained how a tracking system introduced in January was catching properties that had not gotten a final inspection within six months of the previous inspection.

Council members also considered the first reading of an ordinance that would deny builders new permits if they are violating regulations on another site.

Homeowner Kay Clements wondered how much good the ordinance would do for those whose homes already have code or other problems.

"My concern is there are people who are going to fall through the cracks," she said.

During the meeting, Mayor Everette Varney also announced the creation of a board to handle appeals from those who disagree with a building inspector's decision or code enforcement citation.

Varney estimated the percentage of homeowners coming before the council to complain about code violations in the past year was about 4 percent. He reasoned the other 96 percent were satisfied.

"Ninety-six percent is not bad, folks," he said. "We don't have a building inspection problem. We have had some isolated incidents we're taking care of."

One of those in Varney's estimated 4 percent, Tammara Andrews, told the council about her house on Citation Court.

She said a defective heating and cooling system led to $500 electric bills, a flooded ceiling, ruined insulation and legal bills. Her home also has major structural damage, she said. Andrews told the council she wanted to see safeguards in place that could prevent these problems and help correct the ones that exist.

"I want to know someone is on my side," she said. "I don't think we should be responsible for the financial burden of something that should have been taken care of in the first place."