Agenda Packets - 2008/08/11 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Item No:8B Meeting Date: August 11, 2008 Type of Business: Consent Administrator Review : ____ City of Mounds View Staff Report To: Honorable Mayor and City Council From: Ken Roberts, Community Development Director Item Title/Subject: Authorization for Additional Part-Time Code Enforcement Hours Introduction: City Staff is requesting Council approval of a resolution for additional funding for more staff time for Code Enforcement. Background: On May 7 and again on June 4, 2007, the City Council reviewed code enforcement staffing levels in the Community Development Department. The Council asked staff to explore alternatives to increase our code enforcement presence. On June 11, 2007, the City Council approved Resolution 7131. This resolution allowed the PSO (Public Service Officer) to work up to an additional ten hours a week through August 2007 to assist with code enforcement. Discussion: In 2006, the City Council authorized the PSO position to work ten hours a week to help the staff in the community development department with the code enforcement. In 2007, it became apparent that additional staff hours would be necessary to respond to the growing volume of complaints and violations in the City. As in past years, there is a need for additional help for code enforcement this year as the number and complexity of code enforcement calls has continued at a high level. The PSO position presently works 30 hours a week (20 hours in the Police Department and 10 hours with Community Development) and would be able to work up to an additional ten hours a week through the end of October. Having the additional staff hours assigned to code enforcement will help city staff resolve the code enforcement backlog and staffing deficiency. Staff has concluded that such an arrangement is the most cost effective short- term solution to the city’s code enforcement needs. There is money in the Community Development Department budget to cover the additional costs (as the city did not have a Community Development Director for several months). As we start the planning process for the 2009 budget, the City will need to reconsider the issue of code enforcement, as the additional hours assigned to the PSO is a temporary response to a long-term issue.