County code enforcement reports roughly 2,300 inspections in 2025, launches RV enforcement push

David Murphy, Jasper County’s code enforcement officer, told the county council on March 16 that his office handled about 2,292 inspections during calendar year 2025 and closed the large majority of cases, leaving roughly 133 open cases that often involve complex nuisance, zoning or unsafe-structure issues. “We handled 2,292 total inspections … with only a 133 open inspections,” Murphy said during a presentation to the council.

Murphy said 2,159 of the 2025 inspections were reinspections or resolved inspections and that the office issued 45 formal citations that were processed through magistrate court. He described 12 owner-initiated demolition projects the county helped facilitate last year and ongoing work to bring mobile-home and junkyard sites into compliance.

The officer said the division currently has only one inspector — himself — and that the department had two inspectors the prior year. Under county ordinances, property owners have up to roughly 180 days to achieve compliance, Murphy said, but staff aim for an average compliance window near 90 days.

Murphy introduced a new quarter-long initiative he’s calling “Project Stay Safe,” a 90-day program that will begin with 30 days of education aimed at preventing long-term occupancy of campers, RVs and travel trailers and will transition to enforcement measures, including notices and citations where needed. “This will actually target… bringing the education up to the level that people understand that you can't use a camper, RV, or travel trailer for permanent residents,” Murphy said.

Council members pressed staff on staffing and workload: one councilor asked how many inspections the office averages per day and Murphy replied the annual total equates to roughly 2,300 inspections and that the reinspections tracking requires manual review. Councilors also expressed concern about balancing enforcement with humanitarian needs for residents living in RVs and campers; the chair and other members urged pairing any enforcement with outreach and potential policy options to address homelessness risk.

Murphy also told the council that the division is planning a larger public-outreach campaign next year — branded Clean and Safe Jasper County — to educate residents about county nuisance and property-maintenance codes and how to contact the department. He closed by sharing department contact information and inviting further questions.

What happens next: Council did not take formal action on the presentation but directed staff to continue work on Project Stay Safe and return with any policy recommendations or additional data as requested during the Q&A.