Maddie Herron
•8/20/2026
CAPE CORAL, Fla. (WINK)—Cape Coral has created a new licensing investigator position to crack down on unlicensed contractors and uphold state and local license requirements.
General contractor Paul Barnes attended Cape Coral's City Council meeting Wednesday to voice his concerns about unlicensed contracting. He said the problem is widespread on projects throughout the city.
"It's not been enforced, and so people are just they'll call three contractors. Two will be illegal. One will be legal. Price difference is substantially more because they don't have the license and insurance and workmen's comp, and so they typically go with the illegal contractors." Barnes said.
During the meeting, council approved the new licensing investigator position and a $5 surcharge on all building permits to fund it. City documents show the permit fee will generate about $150,000 in city revenue every year.
"Their full-time job will be solely focused on license contract enforcement," said Matthew Grambo, deputy development services director for Cape Coral.
Grambo presented council with a list of the investigator's core responsibilities. The list includes:
"This particular position will be doing both proactive and reactive work in terms of enforcing unlicensed contract regulations at both the local and state level," Grambo said.
Licensed contractors like Barnes are looking forward to seeing the position filled. A city spokesperson said no official start date has been set. In earlier discussions, City Manager Michael Ilczyszyn indicated it could take roughly three months to bring an investigator on board after council approval, with the position potentially being posted around the start of the new fiscal year.
The position requires a high school diploma or GED with three years of specific vocational experience in contractor licensing, code enforcement, regulatory compliance, investigation, inspection and gathering evidence.
When asked whether the investigator will conduct random audits on licensed contractors, a spokesperson for the city responded in an email with the following:
"Job-site audits may involve checking that a contractor present on site holds a valid license (to confirm licensure), but this is not a random compliance audit of contractors who are already properly licensed. The focus of this new position is to respond to complaints of unlicensed contracting and to proactively investigate instances of unlicensed contracting. The Licensing Investigator will, however, deem an individual to be an unlicensed contractor if his or her license has been suspended or revoked, which is consistent with State law. Details on the enforcement approach and core responsibilities of this position can be found here."
Barnes advised homeowners to always check if a contractor has the right permits and paperwork when hiring.
"Whenever a homeowner hires a contractor, not only should they verify their license number and check with their local permitting authorities, but they should also, and I see this a lot, especially lately. Get a copy of their certificate of insurance with the homeowner's name list in the bottom left corner. Then call the insurance company and actually verify the insurance is real," Barnes said.
Homeowners can verify a contractor's license by searching their name or license number on the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) website.
