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Council weighs hiring dedicated code enforcement officer
Summary
City staff presented options to move code enforcement out of the police department and to hire either a part-time or full-time code enforcement officer; council members signaled support but asked staff to return with budgeted options and a timeline.
Summer, a city staff member, told the council the city currently assigns one police officer about 198 hours a year to code enforcement and that most cases are complaint-driven. "For 190 hours, we're spending about $13,000 a year on code enforcement," she said, and described the types of calls handled (parking, junk, weeds and snow removal). Council members pressed for whether the city should hire a dedicated capacity and if so whether it should be part-time or full-time.
Several council members pushed for a permanent position to provide proactive enforcement and outreach. "It needs to be full time," said a committee member (S9), arguing a full-time officer would support education, community outreach and sustained enforcement. Staff presented two costed options: a part-time code enforcement officer (roughly $50,000/year, estimated 1,300 hours and about 520 cases) and a full-time officer (just under $85,000/year, estimated 728 cases). The council directed staff to run additional numbers and prepare job descriptions and a timeline before posting a position.
