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Sheriff and council discuss town code enforcement pilot and potential shared staffing
Summary
Council members and the Wasatch County sheriff discussed expanding code-enforcement hours and a pilot proposal to have deputies perform daily code and construction compliance checks, with options to later transition some duties to town staff. The sheriff proposed flexible, rotating enforcement shifts and an hourly contract for additional service.
Hideout — The council and the Wasatch County Sheriff’s Office discussed a proposed expansion of code-enforcement activity on Sept. 11 after council members and staff said they are seeing recurring violations tied to construction sites and contractor parking that the town wanted addressed.
Sheriff Jared Rigby described the town’s existing contract for additional law-enforcement hours beyond the sheriff’s minimum statutory service and proposed a separate, dedicated program for municipal code enforcement: flexible, rotating six-day schedules with roughly three hours of focused enforcement per day. Under the proposal the sheriff’s office would provide about 18 hours per week of targeted enforcement at an hourly rate that includes personnel, vehicle and equipment costs.
“We’ve been working with the town to define priorities and target hours in the morning to catch construction traffic,” Rigby said. “We can rotate those hours and build in enforcement and education. Our rate covers everything — personnel, equipment and vehicle costs — and can be tailored to what the town can afford.”
Council members and staff discussed alternatives: a short-term sheriff-led pilot to test random enforcement and ticketing, paired with town-employee code officers for daily compliance inspections. Town staff noted new citation forms and updated fine schedules are in place, and public-works staff said an internal maintenance employee has expressed interest in taking on formal code-enforcement duties if the council wants a longer-term, locally administered program.
Mayor Ralph Rubin and council members emphasized the desire to avoid “cost shifting” to town staff with no training, and asked for a phased approach: a sheriff-run pilot to create behavior change and citations where needed, then evaluate whether some responsibilities should be brought in-house with formal training and a clear administrative process for notices, fines and collections.
Why it matters: Council members said recurring construction-related violations — contractors parking on both sides of narrow roads, blocked travel lanes and trash at work sites — affect residents’ safety and quality of life. The sheriff’s proposal gives the town an enforcement option that can be implemented quickly, while the town evaluates a longer-term, possibly lower-cost staffing model.
What’s next: Sheriff Rigby will supply a draft scope and hourly-cost estimate for 18 hours/week of focused code enforcement. Town staff will discuss cross-training and possible job descriptions for a future town code-enforcement position and return with comparative cost estimates and a recommended pilot period.
