Englewood moves code enforcement from police to Community Development, committee approves renaming to "code compliance"

The Code Enforcement Advisory Committee voted Oct. 15 to endorse the city manager’s recent reorganization that moved Englewood’s code enforcement staff out of the Police Department and into the Community Development Department, and the committee approved a motion to change the public-facing name from “code enforcement” to “code compliance.”

City Manager Sean Lewis told the committee the change was made to better align code officers’ work with building inspections, planning and permitting. “We believe that the mission and functions of code enforcement more closely align with the community development department than with police,” Lewis said, noting code work is primarily civil and administrative rather than criminal.

Lewis said the reorganization keeps officers’ uniforms, radios and body-worn cameras and that the move eliminated a duplicative manager position while creating a new code enforcement supervisor role. “We eliminated the code enforcement division manager position…we opened up a new code enforcement supervisor,” he said, and added that AJ Futro was selected as the new supervisor.

Assistant City Attorney Jackson Higgins and Assistant Building Official Carrie Babin gave the committee a legal and operational briefing. Higgins described the shift as intended to improve administrative support and to place code staff alongside colleagues who routinely draft and interpret civil codes. Babin said community development staff already work closely with code officers on enforcement, notices and court processes.

Committee members discussed whether the new name would change enforcement rigor or public perception. Babin and others said the new name is intended to emphasize voluntary compliance while preserving enforcement powers. “The intent of adjusting the name from code enforcement to code compliance is an effort to have more of a positive influence with the community, try to gain voluntary compliance before we actually go that hard strict enforcement route,” Babin said.

Some committee members voiced concern that the name “compliance” could be perceived as softer than “enforcement.” One member said, “I disagree with this name change. Englewood needs a little bit more stick than carrot,” during the discussion. Other members said the change reflects a broader trend in local governments toward emphasizing voluntary remedy and outreach as a first step.

The committee voted to approve the motion to adopt the new name and signal support for the transfer of the division to Community Development. The motion carried after members responded verbally at roll call during the meeting.

The city manager and community development staff said code officers will retain access to police support for criminal incidents and will be cross-trained with building-inspection staff. The committee asked staff to return with implementation details, including communications to the public and the committees’ role going forward.

The committee also asked staff to monitor public reaction and to bring any proposed changes to uniforms, titles or protocols back to the committee before they were finalized.

Next steps listed by staff include: integrating code officers into the Building and Codes division, formalizing administrative support for the committee in Community Development, and ensuring continued operational ties with police for safety and criminal investigations.