Harrington code enforcement reports 2024 permit activity, moves to new permitting software and adds inspector staff

The Harrington code-enforcement lead provided an end-of-year summary of permitting and enforcement activity and outlined plans to switch to new permitting and emergency-reporting software. The presentation also explained new inspector assignments and other steps to improve tracking and responsiveness.

Staff reported that for 2024 they tracked “about 33 permits” and then provided a line-item breakdown: 25 building permits, 43 electrical permits, 30 plumbing permits, 16 mechanical permits, 2 demolition permits, 1 sign permit and 16 roof permits. Since assuming duties in September, code enforcement flagged 22 inoperable or unregistered vehicles parked on the street; staff said owners removed the vehicles without the need for towing and that two cases briefly resulted in summonses that were later dismissed in court. On property-maintenance enforcement, staff said there were 25 grass-inspection events, 106 violation notices, 75 cut orders and 31 cases resolved informally after a phone call; they also reported 18 environmental/nuisance notices and several ongoing cases pending mediation or court review.

The chief described plans to complete onboarding of a cloud-based first-response and permitting suite (FirstDue) and to register the city on the International Code Council platform for training and exams. Staff said FirstDue’s full build-out could take up to two years to finish all modules but would ultimately provide a public portal for online permit submission, payment, inspections and a linked preplan for emergency response at residences. The chief said the vendor’s full suite would cost roughly $12,000–$13,000 per year if all modules are purchased; staff described that as a potential long-term goal rather than an immediate purchase.

Operational changes in the short term include returning to window-permit stickers so inspectors can quickly verify active permits from the street and dividing the city into inspection zones: McKenna will cover the west side, Courtney (new hire Courtney Alford) will handle the east side, and the chief will take commercial properties and escalated cases. The chief said the office has a weekly integration call with the software vendor and hopes improved digital records will replace some of the current carbon-copy paperwork and spreadsheet tracking.

Commissioners asked about how inspections are recorded for contractors and how the department will sign off on inspections before the software goes live; staff said the current process is to sign contractor permits when available and to enter inspection results on the internal spreadsheet if a contractor does not have the physical permit at the time of inspection. The chief said once FirstDue is fully implemented, inspectors will be able to record inspections from a phone or tablet in the field.

In other enforcement notes, staff mentioned a hazardous-building notice and two new house-construction permits on Gerke Court and said both houses were progressing through rough and drywall inspections. The chief closed by asking commissioners to report localized brush piles or public-space issues so enforcement can follow up.

No formal action or vote was taken; the presentation was received and staff were directed to continue onboarding the software and implementing the zone-based inspection assignments.