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Hendry County code enforcement reports staffing gains, rise in cases and liens
Summary
County code enforcement supervisor reported increased staffing since mid‑2023, which officials said allowed more proactive inspections and drove an increase in documented cases, warnings and liens; the county attorney said staff will propose a code-lien reduction policy to encourage property turnover.
Hendry County’s code enforcement division told commissioners on Feb. 11 that increased staffing over the past 18 months has allowed a shift from reactive to proactive enforcement, producing more documented warnings, higher compliance and more recorded liens.
Code Enforcement Supervisor Vaughn said the division was half-staffed in mid‑2022 and had fallen to one officer in early 2023. After hiring additional officers in late 2023 and 2024, the division opened 465 new cases in 2024, compared with 217 newly opened cases in 2023, he said. Vaughn reported that in 2023 there were 128 liens recorded for a total lien value of about $214,000 and fees and lien collections of $41,699.26. In 2024 the office recorded roughly 3,790 initial investigations and warnings, and Vaughn said the department tracked about 3,700 warnings starting in March 2024 through the end of the year with roughly 90 percent compliance on those warnings.
Vaughn said staffing improvements allowed officers to conduct neighborhood sweeps rather than responding only to individual complaints; the office now aims to respond to new complaints within 24 hours Monday through Friday. He also said the division cross‑trains officers for office processing to reduce backlogs.
County Attorney Matt Rollerson told the board his office has about 14 code lien cases under review and has filed three code lien foreclosure actions; one foreclosure already produced a sale that covered the lien and attorney fees. Rollerson said he is preparing a proposed code-lien reduction policy to give staff more flexibility in negotiating reduced liens when doing so would speed turnover and return property to the tax rolls. He said the board would retain discretion over any reductions.
No formal board vote was required on the report. Commissioners praised staff for the improvements and asked that the code enforcement update become a regular (quarterly) report to the board.
