Cleveland City Manager Janice CasteelCLEVELAND, Tenn. -- Cleveland will consider a number of measures to improve code enforcement, possibly including hiring more codes officers without spending more money.
The Cleveland City Council recently voted 6-0 to ask City Manager Janice Casteel to "explore some options within the present budget to address the need for additional officers."
"The council recognizes that our citizens expect codes to be enforced," said Councilman Richard Banks, who sponsored the request.
He said that 65 to 75 percent of the complaints received by the City Council involve codes enforcement.
An ad hoc committee composed of Banks, Vice Mayor George Poe, Cleveland Financial Director Shawn McKay and codes officers Joel Prince and Criss Caywood made several recommendations.
Poe said the two codes enforcement officers the city now employs are not enough.
"Two people cannot go through this whole city and watch everything," he said.
While the City Council did not request a specific number of additional officers, Banks said the ad hoc committee had recommended hiring two more. Those positions could be filled from within other city departments, he said.
Poe said revamping codes enforcement could involve some reorganization. Codes officers could remain within the police department, fall under the public works department or become a standalone department, he said.
The committee also recommended providing better vehicles for the officers, said Banks. One officer drives an 18-year-old truck and another recently had to use a police patrol car because his regular vehicle broke down.
Banks said improvements are needed in the process of reporting and resolving codes enforcement matters.
McKay said one possible solution could be to adopt PublicStuff, an online tool to let residents report codes issues and make other requests for services. The application can be embedded in the Cleveland government website and downloaded to smartphones, he said.
"It only takes about five touches of your phone" to route requests to the proper department, McKay said.
Nashville and Sevierville already are using PublicStuff, he said.
Banks also said stronger repercussions may be needed for codes offenders who do not pay their fines, said Banks. Loss of driver's license is a possible option.
Such court-driven measures would require support from state legislators, he said.
Paul Leach is based in Cleveland. Email him at paul.leach.press@gmail.com.