HENRICO COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) -- Henrico County recently announced the appointment of Bolman Bowles to the position of Building Official for the Department of Building Inspections. According to the county, Bowles -- a longtime staff member of the department -- previously served as Deputy Building Official but will take over for Gregory H. Revels, who is retiring following over 26 years in the position. Bowles joined the department as a civil engineer back in 1987, and went on to serve as a senior plans review engineer before earning his title of Deputy Building Official in 1998. He has a Bachelor of Science in civil engineering from Virginia Tech and a Master of Public Administration from Virginia Commonwealth University. The position of Building Official includes directing the efforts of a department that contains 58 employees with a budget of $6 million for the 2024-25 fiscal year, according to the county. To ensure compliance with Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code, the Department of Building Inspections completes reviews and inspections of structural, mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems within buildings and structures throughout the county. As stated by the county, the department is also responsible for making sure that newly constructed residential, commercial and industrial buildings are structurally sound and implement fire and electrical safety procedures. In the 2023-24 fiscal year, the department issued building permits for new construction that were valued at $1.4 billion.