Hewitt staff outlines code-enforcement process and urges authority to issue citations

Assistant Chief Bennett (Hewitt Police Department) presented a step-by-step review of the city’s code-enforcement process at the council’s Nov. 3 workshop, saying the city received 859 complaints between April and September and that 617 (about 71.8%) were confirmed violations of city ordinance.

Bennett outlined two approaches the city can take: a traditional enforcement model that issues tickets immediately, and a compliance-focused model that emphasizes education and collaboration and uses citations only when voluntary compliance fails. “Currently, the city of Hewitt code enforcement philosophy is in line with the compliance philosophy,” Bennett said.

The assistant chief walked the council through the typical path for a tall-grass complaint: a site inspection; a finding of violation if grass exceeds 8 inches; a knock and written notice; then a 7-day window required by ordinance (staff typically allow 7–10 days to account for mailing). If a property remains noncompliant, staff file a municipal-court complaint, a licensed officer must serve a summons, and the respondent has 10 days to appear. Bennett said if a defendant pleads not guilty, the average time from plea to trial is about two months, and judges sometimes grant extensions of up to 180 days in extreme cases.

Bennett recommended two operational changes to shorten the timeline and limit city liability: granting code enforcement officers the authority to issue municipal-code citations directly (which he said could save “about a week to 2 weeks” in the process) and contracting insured lawn-care firms to abate vacant properties rather than using city crews and equipment. “It would save us about a week to 2 weeks if code enforcement can issue a citation directly to that person like a patrol officer can,” Bennett said.

Council members pressed on repeat violators, average time to compliance and court-related delays. Staff said over 94% of cases resolve through compliance and most compliance cases are handled within 7–30 days. For the minority that move to court (roughly 5.8%), judicial discretion and continuances can prolong resolution. Mayor Pro Tem and other council members stressed that changing the citation authority will require ordinance edits, legal review and coordination with the city prosecutor and municipal court so the city attorney and court will accept citations issued by non-sworn code officers.

City staff also described the abatement invoice and lien process: if the city or a contractor performs abatement, the city invoices the property owner; owners have 30 days to pay and on day 31 the city may place a lien per ordinance. Staff said Waco uses a rotating contract for mowing vacant properties and that commercial property managers often respond quickly to avoid liens.

Council expressed broad support for pursuing ordinance changes and legal review to enable citation authority and to use contracted abatement for vacant properties. Staff and council asked that attorneys and the municipal court be included in the next steps before any operational shift is implemented. The workshop closed with a request to return to the topic at a future workshop for ordinance drafting and to present implementation options.