After a nationwide recruitment effort, Chesterfield County announced last week that it has hired Ronald W. Clements Jr. as its new director of the Building Inspection Department.
Clements currently serves as the county’s assistant building inspection director. He began his new role Nov. 1 at a salary of $140,000. He replaced Richard C. Witt, who retired after 34 years with the county, including nine as the director of the department.
Clements has been with the department since 1999, during which time he has contributed to numerous process improvements, technology enhancements and staff development initiatives.
He has served since 2011 as assistant director of the department, which performs over 100,000 inspections a year on construction totaling more than $750 million annually. In this capacity, Clements has been responsible for directing division chiefs, developing staff relationships and implementing policy to provide effective building safety regulatory services. This has included participating in the building code development process at the state and national levels and the legislative process at the General Assembly.
For his achievements, Clements has been recognized with several awards: the Virginia Building Code Officials Association’s Presidents Award for Excellence in 2015; the Virginia Plumbing and Mechanical Inspectors Gordon I. Dameron Award for Outstanding Service in 2017; and the Jack A. Proctor Sr. Award for Code Development Leadership in 2018.
“Ron has been a real asset to the county … and is recognized as a leader in his field and brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the position,” said Jesse Smith, deputy county administrator for Community Development.
As director of Building Inspection, Clements will lead 67 staff members and will oversee the strategic and daily operations of the Building Inspection Department, whose primary functions include: enforcing the uniform statewide building code, a requirement of all localities in Virginia; reviewing and processing building permit applications; issuing building permits and certificates of occupancy; performing building and property maintenance inspections; addressing citizens concerns; representing the county in state and national code development processes; and responding to building-related emergencies.
Clements has a bachelor’s degree in building construction from Virginia Tech’s College of Architecture and Urban Studies. He holds numerous certifications in the building inspection and maintenance industry.
