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Committee agrees to repost prosecutor position for enforcement of housing and code tickets; seeks ordinance review
Summary
The Personnel Committee voted to repost the enforcement prosecutor position (item 49-25), discussed duties under Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 40U and asked HR, inspectional services and the ordinance committee to coordinate on job description and hearing-officer arrangements.
The Personnel Committee voted to untable and forward a committee report to the full council recommending reposting the enforcement prosecutor position used to pursue housing-code and other municipal tickets.
Inspectional Services Director Ruiz described the prosecutor's expected duties as managing ticketing under Massachusetts General Law chapter 40U, monitoring inspections and timelines, sending notices and filing complaints when necessary. "They would essentially be in charge of anything that has to do with ticketing under the 40U law that we enforce," Ruiz said.
City attorneys and committee members stressed that the city also needs an independent hearing officer for appeals. The city attorney explained the three-step enforcement process: an inspector issues a ticket; a hearing officer (an impartial reviewer) adjudicates appeals; and, if a ticket remains unresolved, a prosecutor or attorney takes the matter to housing or district court. "If somebody appeals the ticket, that person must have a hearing; if they don't get a hearing, the ticket may be dismissed," the city attorney said.
Committee members noted that the city has an existing backlog of uncollected tickets and that prior task-force efforts that aided enforcement had lapsed. The committee requested that HR repost the position and open it to applicants, with the understanding that ordinance updates and appointment of an independent hearing officer may be required to restore a complete enforcement pipeline.
A motion to untable the item and then a subsequent motion to send item 49-25 as a committee report to the full council were both approved. Director Ruiz said the department will repost the position and conduct interviews; the committee recommended the ordinance committee review any ordinance-level changes needed to the hearing and enforcement process.
