Code enforcement stretches resources after worker retires

by Hillary Copsey
Senior City Writer

Retirement has shorted Athens Code Enforcement one staff member, making other officers divide their time among patrolling for violations and other duties such as safety inspections.

When Mike Robinson, one of the six code enforcement officers, retired because of a disability last year, another officer was promoted to his position. Athens Code Director Steve Pierson said the position could be replaced, but the decision is City Council’s.

Before Robinson’s retirement, his replacement patrolled Athens’ 37 miles of sidewalks, looking for trash, cars parked in yards and other city code violations. Mayor Ric Abel said the sidewalk and litter patrol position was removed from the city budget because it did not have a large enough impact on litter control.

Also, Robinson had not worked for almost nine months before his retirement because of disabilities and other officers already were covering his duties, Abel said.

Yet, after hearing complaints of trash on Mill and Stewart streets at the last council meeting, Councilwoman Carol Patterson, D-2nd ward, said the answer to code problems is not stricter housing codes, but stricter enforcement of codes already in place.

Officers no longer can patrol extensively or proactively on a regular basis, Pierson said.

“They just have to fit it in with their other duties,” he said. “If they don’t have housing inspections or paperwork for the inspections, they might spend an entire day just driving a sector of town.”

Of the five officers, four regularly perform housing inspections in their respective quarters of Athens. The fifth handles paperwork for permits and zoning requests. While out for inspections or if paperwork is slow, Pierson said the officers patrol the streets for violations or respond to complaints.

“What you’re not going to have is one person who is keyed in to one particular item all day long,” Pierson said. “Naturally during the course of a day, you’re going to have to make priorities. You do have to make choices and scheduling decisions.”

And sometimes making choices means getting the job done a little slower.

“We have additional duties because we have one less person,” code officer Charles Miller, who has been with the office for 17 years, said. “The rest of us had to pick it up. We’re getting it done, but just not as quickly as before.”

But while code officers might not have as much time as before, Abel said the city has asked both police officers and parking attendants to watch for litter and other code violations on their beats to alleviate the situation.

Council also is working with the solid waste and health departments to create a better solution to the litter problem, Abel said.