Despite not having the required Building Code Administrator License, Ladi March was offered the job of Building Official by Riviera Beach in December 2016.
The conditional job offer mentions that the probationary period will be extended beyond the regular six months to a full year, giving her time to acquire the necessary license.
“Failure to acquire the full building official license within this probationary period will result in separation from the City”, according to the document obtained by Contact 5.
Special Section: Riviera Beach, a City in Turmoil
March, who started on January 11, 2017, was issued a provisional license by the state in May.
Prior to her obtaining a provisional license the city had to spend close to $21,000 on hiring an outside firm to act as building official.
Now, more than a year after starting her $75,839-a-year job she has yet to obtain the full license after she failed to pass the necessary exams.
State records indicate that March has attempted two of the three parts of the required tests but failed both times, most recently on January 3, 2018.
While according to the job offer March would have had to part with the city, Contact 5 has learned that instead of firing her the city extended her probationary period. She now has until May to pass the exam.
Her provisional license will expire in May.
After this she cannot apply for a provisional license again. She can, however, ask the board for an extension of the provisional license, and it would be their decision whether or not to grant the extension.
The city’s building official figures prominently in a lawsuit filed by against the city.
Port of Palm Beach Cold Storage alleges in the lawsuit that the city's building official, Ladi March, refuses to do her job and as a result, the company is suffering a huge financial loss.
The company says they can't use their brand new facility on Martin Luther King Boulevard because the city won't give them the proper permits.
WPTV contacted March and City Manager Karen Hoskins but we did not hear back in time for publication.