09-07-16 Personnel and Finance - Laserfiche WebLink

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Committeemember Williams- Preston asked if IT handles 311 and how that applies to Code Enforcement. Mr. Wilkerson stated that the calls Code Enforcement gets are better served if they go straight to the department, because they can get straight to the problem. Because a physical address is needed in order to respond to issues, it is best for people to be directed straight to Code Enforcement. If we can work with 311 to get us to that address, we could make it work, but a lot of our issues are very detailed, and we want to make sure the transition is going to be successful for us and our staff. Committeemember Williams- Preston stated she loves the brochures, but a constituent who is a stable figure in the neighborhood called her because he was fined for a bag of trash. He was hurt because he would not leave a bag of trash in the neighborhood he works so hard to keep clean. She asked how they determine who the trash belongs to. Mr. Wilkerson stated that the inspectors tear open the bags of trash to see if they can find any identifying material, such as mail that is addressed to the owner of the trash or credit cards that were thrown away. We'll work with people who are first time violators, and if we can reduce or waive the fine, we will. Mr. Wilkerson stated that the Department of Code Enforcement is required to cite the property owner, no matter how the trash got there. If we can prove it is an illegal dump, we will pick it UP. Committeemember Williams- Preston asked if grass fees went up. Mr. Wilkerson said no, they didn't go up. Dr. Ferlic stated that an eight percent (8 %) collection rate is not appropriate. Dr. Ferlic then asked what percentage of households own a pet, and should you have an animal if you can't afford an animal. He would like to know if we should inflict the costs of owning an animal on the taxpayers that do not own an animal. Mr. Wilkerson said his dog has a line item in his budget. We tend to reduce the price of dogs and cats, so we have to ask if they are buying them because the price is reduced, or if they can actually afford it. Some people,might be able to afford the small amount to purchase the dog, but not the costs that are associated with caring for the dog. We are also dealing with transient people, so it is not as easy as we would like it to be to collect on these tickets. It's really tough when they keep moving out on us. Dr. Ferlic stated that if we have a ninety -five percent (95 %) collection rate on property taxes, we should have a higher collection rate in Code Enforcement. Mr. Wilkerson stated that the eight percent (8 %) we are talking about is from collections, it does not include any special assessments that are collected. 18