Haley Bradburn, the voice on the other end of the phone for the Ky Board of Home Inspectors (KBHI), has moved on.
Poor Haley! She went from zero to on-top in a matter of months. Now, a few months later, she’s going to a new gig at the Labor Dept.
Filling her shoes, new KBHI Administrator Nathan Burton will start picking up the phone.
In a way, this is nothing new. She only started last year. KBHI Administrators generally have
lasted somewhere around a year ever since the Board was kicked out of DHBC (the Dept f Housing, Buildings, & Construction) back in 2011.
You have to wonder what that kind of turnover says. Constantly churning staff has been the Board’s bugaboo for all those 8 years, first at OOPs! (aka the Office of Occupations & Professsions) and later, after it was transformed like a bug into a moth, at the Ky Real Estate Authority (KREA) (no relation to the amateur CE provider). Of course, we’re also now on the third Executive Director, and the third General Counsel, for the KREA, that extra blanket of bureaucracy added to real estate licensing boards about 2 years ago, in Dec., 2016. Oh, and an election for Governor is like 8 months away.
Whatever the backstory, Haley won over home inspectors across the state in her short time in the post.
She will be missed.
Phone calls got answered. Emails got prompt replies.
Sure, it’s a low bar to hurdle. But, you’ve got to be grateful for small things dealing with this Board.
After all, in neighboring states – like Tennessee, Indiana, Illinois – no one even needs to call. It’s all online, there. New licenses are in their hands a few days later. Badaboom.
There’s no twiddling your fingers, waiting for a monthly KBHI meeting (assuming it’s not cancelled, as December’s was). Tennessee, Illinois, and Indiana just email the license back. Badaboom Badaboom. There’s no “deferred renewals,” the happy talk used to describe waiting another month or so to finish up a renewal. In the other states, the screen lights up whatever is missing, you plug it in, and all is well.
In 2011, the then-new OOPs Executive Director told the KBHI its regulations were way out of date and urgently needed upgrading to move licensing online. The Board said “sure, we’re on it, boss,” and promptly rewrote its regs – without a single change to foster online licensing. It’s done that several times since then. Call it the KBHI Perpetual Employment Reg Rewrite.
You know, if these guys (oh, yes, they’re all guys) did not have to show up every month, they might not get their hotel rooms, meals, and checks.
Instead, you might just get license renewed the next day.
And we might not have to be so grateful that Haley answered the phone.
Since we probably would not need to call.
Our heartfelt best wishes to Haley. She deserves to see her hard work and cheerful outlook help build something for the 21st century that is genuinely worthwhile and in service to others.
She’s got what it takes. Now, with any luck, she gets to take her shot.