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Magistrate may replace volunteer code enforcement board
By DAVE SHELTON
Article published on Wednesday, July 23, 2008 |
LARGO – City commissioners might replace the city's volunteer Code Enforcement Board with a magistrate–lawyer to save money and more efficiently deal with a growing number of alleged violations in the city.
Ken Andrews, a city building official, said many cases involving illegally parked vehicles and untended lawns are backing up. During a July 22 City Commission work session, he said adjudication is often delayed for months as the board is unable to gather a quorum for its monthly hearings. He said also that the economy has led to a growing number of violations.
Andrews said that by hiring a lawyer to decide these cases would speed up hearings. He said this would also free the city's staff attorney to assist inspectors in prosecuting cases since under the existing codes the staff attorney must guide the board, forcing the inspectors to seek advice from Alan S. Zimmet, the city’s part-time attorney
The building official also noted that more and more time is being demanded of the volunteer board members and that they often face potentially embarrassing situations in which they must impose fines on friends, neighbors and “people they run into in the supermarket.”
The proposal, however, met with some resistance among city commissioners.
Commissioner Robert Murray said he favored having cases heard by residents’ “peers.” But Commissioner Woody Brown countered that the city commission, which establishes codes and penalties are the residents' peers, the board is only supposed to decide if a code has been breached and to impose fines.
Commissioners Rodney Woods and Mary Gray Black agreed with Murray. Black added that she felt inspectors would have to prepare just as much material for a magistrate as they do for the current board, just less time at a copying machine.
Black also suggested that board members might be reimbursed for the cost of driving to board meetings. She also suggested that the city might name alternate members to the board who could be called upon when regular board members are unable to attend a hearing.
Mayor Patricia Gerard said she agreed with Brown, feeling that a magistrate would focus more on the evidence presented and be potentially less biased and more consistent in the application of city codes.
Andrews noted that creating a magistrates' court to sit for eight hours in each session could increase the cost of televising the hearings. He said eliminating the coverage would save money.
Brown said he would rather continue the cable coverage, seeing it as educational and as a deterrent to property owners who might be embarrassed to see their cases aired.
The commission is to return with more details at a regular commission meeting in September when the elected officials could decide whether to create the magistrate's court.
In other action, the commission once again put-off a plea by retired police and fire officers for annual cost-of-living increases in their pensions. The 135 retired employees first sought an increase last November, pointing out that since the pension fund was created 20 years ago, there has been only one cost-of-living increase.
Kim Adams, city finance director, said the city gave the retirees a one-time cost-of-living increase in 2001. He said this was funded by a surplus in the fund that pays the pensions.
That fund now has about 12 percent less money that it might need to continue paying retirement benefits, Adams said. He blamed this on less income being received from the funds’ investments during the past three years.
Adams added that the economy has more seriously affected such funds in nearby communities, some with funds as low as 60 percent of the money needed to meet their obligations.
To pay for the 2 percent increase annually sought by the retirees would cost the city at least $9 million, Adams projected. He said it would cost more if the city didn't inject that much money this year but spread it out over coming years.
Adams noted that the city doesn't have enough money to pay the $9 million and would have to rewrite a budget where $2 million in jobs and services have already been cut because of state-mandated tax reductions.
Commissioners appeared unanimous in a desire to give the retirees some relief from inflation, but concerned over how to pay for it. Adams was directed to determine how much the city could afford and to report-back at another commission meeting.
The retirees met a similar delay in their request in November, when Adams said projections by the city's actuarial consultant were under question and the cost of an increase couldn’t be accurately determined at that time. He also said the city couldn't determine at that time how much it could afford until the state tax-reduction mandates had been clarified.
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Article published on Wednesday, July 23, 2008
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