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At the last Council work session, Richard Briley, Managing Director of the Health, and Steve Killen, Director of Code Compliance, gave an update on the proactive code compliance program that had been initiated a few months ago. I mentioned here why I thought the program would be a drastic improvement over how we as a city had been enforcing code compliance. I still maintain that opinion.
Instead of responding to just citizen complaints, the department inspects whole neighborhoods at the same time. Signs are placed near entrances to inform residents the program is underway. Inspections are just of the exterior and are generally done from the public right-of-way. The intent is help neighborhoods be compliant. With even enforcement, it is assumed individual complaints will be less and the overall impression of neighborhoods will be more positive.
Mr Briley said he is pleased by the programs results to date and that the department has met most of its goals. His synopsis included:
Program Goals
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Goal
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Results
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| Continue to provide prompt and courteous responses to all service requests (24-48 hours) |
• Response times average 12.8 hours (per random sample)
• Peak season may negatively impact response times
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| Complete first inspection cycle by March 2008 |
• Every home in City inspected for "abatable nuisances"
• Includes follow-ups
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| Utilitze enforcement measures, if necessary, to ensure high compliance rates |
• High voluntary compliance
• Work Orders used to address non-compliant properties
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| Improve neighborhood aesthetics |
• Many positive comments from residents
• At survey completion, results are cleary evident in most areas
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| A successful decrease in the number of violations per residence |
• Incident data show a 37% reduction since 2007, on average
• Surveys on-going
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| A quantifiable decrease in citizen-reported complaints |
• Complaints up over last year
• Retaliatory/expectation complaints?
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| Effectively allocate resources |
• Established six two-inspector teams to address complaints and proactive inspections
• A "sweeper" position was utilized to address areas with high violation densities
• Complaint inspectors assist Animal Service Officers by issuing notices for animals without City registration
• Two "Specialist" positions are utilized for bothg Neighborhood Standards and Housing Standards duties
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| Focus on citizen education efforts |
• Area inspectors regularly attend Neighborhood Association meetings
• Utility billing inserts focusing on common violations
• Promoting proactive program via media outlets
• Enlarged notices placed in survey area prior to beginning inspection cycle
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Mr Briley compared the activity within Code Compliance to the same period last year. With the same number of personnel, inspections almost doubled. Fewer citations were given but more work orders were given to remediate violations. The effect was more violations were fixed but less processing of violations, including court appearances, was necessary.
YEAR-TO-DATE COMPARISON
October-February (Conclusion of First Cycle)
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FY 2006
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FY 2007
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Change
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| Complaints |
4597
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7767
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69%
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| Inspections |
23,998
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71,593
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198%
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| Citations |
470
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273
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-42%
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| Work Orders |
212
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1140
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437%
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Also included in the presentation were updates on the single family rental inspection program. The entire presentation can be viewed on any of replays of the work session on CGTV, but the easiest way to view it is at the city website. The link to the video of the presentation is below:
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Steve Killen and
Richard Briley
Code Compliance Update
Video
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Success Is Being Redefined in Code Compliance -
Categories: Opinions, Code Compliance -
Douglas
@ 09:24:25 pm
