Code office candidate Joe Brumbaugh vows stricter enforcement, landlord accountability

Joe Brumbaugh, who said he is running for Sunbury City Council on a two-year term and currently oversees the city’s code office, told forum attendees he intends to make substantial changes to enforcement and staffing practices.

“I'm running for city council on a 2 year term. I am now in charge of the code department. The code department is in dire straits,” Brumbaugh said, describing recent steps he has taken to reduce overtime and require staff to complete on-foot inspections rather than drive-by checks. He said he stopped overtime immediately after taking the role and ordered staff to begin walking neighborhoods to find problems behind fences and yards that are not visible from the street.

Brumbaugh said he wants code officers to be certified and able to answer residents’ questions on the spot. He criticized landlords who neglect properties and said poor maintenance by a single absentee landlord can depress values on an entire block. “If they're not going to take care of their properties, they shouldn't be in Sunbury,” Brumbaugh said.

Other council members and candidates at the forum echoed a call for equal enforcement and said recent walk-arounds revealed both minor and more serious property issues. One councilor described an elderly resident whose yard became overgrown; after a staff visit and outreach to a caregiver the problem was remedied without formal enforcement action.

Brumbaugh acknowledged the job will be difficult and asked residents to judge results after a two-year term. He also raised public-safety concerns related to some public behavior—citing unsanitary conditions encountered by code officers during inspections—and said cleanup and tenant safety are priorities.

Ending: Brumbaugh urged residents to consider his record of on-the-ground work in the code office and to watch for visible changes if he is elected.