We have lost our code enforcement officer?
During the meeting, members of council became aware for the first time
that they no longer even have a code enforcement officer from Assistant
City Manager Marty Black. Black informed council that the now open
position cannot be filled due to unstated legal entanglements with the
previous jobholder. Councilwoman Virginia Warren asked in apparent
astonishment, "We have lost our code enforcement officer?" (wma
audio file, 0.3MBs, 0:50).
Black went on to say that even if the position were fully open and
available, the city can't seem to find anyone qualified who is willing to
take the job. Black attributed the lack of interest in a job with the city
to the city's own proprietary retirement system. That system is separate
from the state system used by most other municipalities and government
agencies.
Council subsequently voted to create a new enforcement position. That
seemed to offer little hope to Siegrist, as there is still the problem of
finding someone willing to work for the city.
Moore stays silent, O'Connell hits the roof
The chairman of the Code Enforcement Board, John Moore, sat in the
audience and observed the proceedings silently. Moore, who is running for
an open city council seat and is the favored choice of the majority of
sitting council, offered no input during the meeting, nor was he asked for
any.
Siegrist's neighbor, retired judge Donald O'Connell, then spoke before
council. O'Connell took the code enforcement department, council and City
Manager George Hunt to task for not addressing the problem before it
became a crisis. O'Connell primarily blamed the city manager and staff for
the way the agenda of the council meetings is prepared, alluding that
staff does little to nothing to solve such problems and then intentionally
keeps council in the dark about ongoing problems within the city by not
allowing certain items to appear on the agenda.
O'Connell also blamed council for allowing staff to have that much
authority over the agenda. He concluded by sharply asking "What kind
of council are you if you can't even enforce some simple little complaint
like this?" (wma audio file,
0.3MBs, 0:56).
Hunt takes offense and then takes the offensive
George Hunt fired back that it was a financial issue, and that by hiring a
new enforcement officer, the city had just effectively wiped out what
little savings had been made in the recent tax reduction. He further
stated that code enforcement is not and never has been a priority issue
within the city. The city does not take a proactive stance in code
enforcement, according to Hunt. In fact, code enforcement is twelfth or
fifteenth on the list of city priorities. If the city does choose to
enforce its own municipal code, it is only after a citizen has made a
complaint.
O'Connell didn't buy it, and responded to Hunt angrily: "You're
the one behind these decisions. Council should be dealing with these
issues, they should not be hidden behind some tax issue. If you can't
enforce the municipal code, then abolish the municipal code enforcement
board. Why have a board if you can't process any complaints? ...I'm sure
you're getting complaints from citizens all the time that are not being
brought before council, they're just being swept under the rug." (wma
audio file, 0.7MBs, 1:54).
Best case scenario: death by economic implosion
As to the storage facility that is causing all the problems, Siegrist
and O'Connell have one hope -- economic implosion. With the storage
facility in the process of going condo, Siegrist stated
that he hopes the facility will be mismanaged into oblivion.
Meanwhile, the city has promised to do the job right this time (the check is in
the mail -- honest!).
Problem: first they have to find someone willing to do it.
Then there are the questions that O'Connell raises, which remain
unanswered: will council this time around be kept informed by the code
enforcement board and by the city manager? If so (and that's a mighty big
'if'), will council have the fortitude to follow-up?
As things stand now, Siegrist and O'Connell's best and only hope may
very well be that the storage facility will whither and die on its own.
