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Gila County amends Hearing Officer rules to apply to all county ordinances
Summary
The Board adopted Ordinance 2025-03 to amend the Hearing Officer Rules of Procedure (Ordinance 501) so those procedures clearly apply to all county ordinances and to correct an omission listing Gila County Ordinance 08-02 (Clean and Lean).
The Gila County Board of Supervisors adopted Ordinance No. 2025-03, amending Ordinance 501 (Gila County Hearing Officer Rules of Procedure) to clarify that the Hearing Officer process can be used for enforcement of all county ordinances, statutes and resolutions.
County staff described the amendment as twofold: (1) add an explicit catch-all entry to the definitions (section 1.1) to include any county statute, ordinance or resolution that authorizes use of the hearing officer for civil enforcement; and (2) correct an omission in Rule 21.2.3 by adding Gila County Ordinance 08-02 (Clean and Lean). Staff said the current ordinance partially lists specific codes but lacked wording that clearly allows future ordinances to use the hearing officer process.
During discussion Supervisors praised the hearing officer process as having improved code enforcement outcomes and noted that broadening the ordinance will allow future ordinances (for example, grading/drainage or right-of-way regulations) to use the same enforcement pathway. Staff said adopting the amendment will also permit the county to advertise only the new ordinance and then incorporate changes into the existing ordinance text.
A public hearing was opened and no members of the public present in the Payson or Globe hearing rooms wished to speak. The board voted to adopt Ordinance 2025-03 by voice vote; the chairman closed the public hearing and called for the motion, which passed unanimously.
Staff advised the board that adopting the amendment may increase workload for code-enforcement staff and that the county is exploring adding a second hearing officer and additional technical staff (for grading/drainage and floodplain oversight). The board discussed staffing plans: project managers in public works are currently responsible for related enforcement and new positions for floodplain administration are posted but not yet filled.
The ordinance change will be published in the Payson Roundup and the Arizona Silver Belt per statutory notice requirements after adoption.
