03-28-2001 Council Agenda - Laserfiche WebLink

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515 Little Canada Road, Little Canada, MN 55117 -1600 (651) 766 -4029 / FAX: (651) 766 -4048 Email: cityhall @ci .little - canada.mn.us MEMORANDUM TO: Mayor Fahey & Members of the City Council FROM: Joel Hanson, City Administrator DATE: March 23, 2001 RE: Code Enforcement Options MAYOR Michael I. Fahey COUNCIL Beverly Scalze Jim LaValle Matt Anderson Rick Montour ADMINISTRATOR Jocl R. Hanson The season of complaints will soon be upon us and we need to make some decisions as to how to proceed with our code enforcement program. In the budget, we have allowed for a six - month, full time position at a salary of up to $15 per hour. We have used interns to staff this position in the past. My concern with this option is as follows: • Limited pool of available, qualified candidates. • Large, front -end commitment to training of personnel each year. • It takes the right kind of person. (Someone who can deal with people, self - starter, able to correctly interpret codes, good communication skills, and someone who can deal with enforcement actions.) History has shown us that this is a job that quickly loses its appeal, especially to a person who is not necessarily committed to its objectives. • Some enforcement actions take longer than six months. Actions get dropped because follow -up does not occur properly. • Lack of continuity between people filling the job. • Code enforcement is a year round job. (While activity is heaviest in warmer months, calls now come in year round. I would estimate we average over 10 per month in the winter.) Ideally, a regular part -time position could be created to address this staffing need. While I am sure there is a person out there who would be great in this capacity, finding them has proven difficult. The type of' people we are looking for are not typically attracted through a want ad. It becomes more of "someone who know someone" type of recruitment, i.e. Duane Williams. Another option I have mentioned is to hire a full time planner to also handle code enforcement. This position could handle routine (most) planning matters and we could retain Northwest Associated Consultants for the more difficult issues. This option would provide better staff expertise, coordination and follow -up. It would also be more expensive, although we would offset some of the cost with consultant savings. (We have paid our consulting planner as follows: 1998 - $16,061; 1999 - $25,905; 2000 - $25,505. Based upon ads I have reviewed, I would estimate a full -time position would cost us approximately $50,000 per year including benefits ($40,000 or less plus PERA, SS & Health — See ad at end of memo). Salary adjustments in future years would increase that amount. PAGE 16