City staff outline shift on code enforcement; public and commissioners raise concerns about timing and fairness

City staff presented a proposed change to Mount Clemens' code enforcement approach that would issue a violation on the first site visit, schedule an administrative hearing early in the process, and then work to resolve violations rather than primarily relying on informal correction efforts.

"Their approach is to issue a violation on the very first visit and then work with the violator to to get it resolved and get the case canceled," Mr. Jobson told the commission when explaining a Port Huron model staff reviewed. He said the budget (if adopted) contains funds for a hearings officer and that ordinance amendments (first and second readings) would be required to implement administrative hearings and related procedures.

Commissioners pressed staff on the scope and timing of the ordinance changes, and the city attorney cautioned that many of Mount Clemens' existing ordinances are drafted as misdemeanors and would need to be retooled to fit an administrative infractions model. Commissioners asked for a booklet of proposed procedures to be returned for review and requested public education materials so residents would not feel singled out when they received a notice with a hearing date.

Public commenters expressed concerns about imposing citations immediately and urged the commission to consider residents' recent hardships: "These past two years have been messed up for a lot of people," one resident said, asking whether the city would work with people before issuing fines. Other residents urged better communication and follow‑up so that public input at meetings leads to clearer answers from staff.

Next steps: staff will draft ordinance amendments and procedures, circulate an educational booklet for public review, and bring proposed ordinance language back to the commission for first and second readings if the commission directs.