Lincoln City Council
Aldermen prepare to hire a new part time code enforcement officer

 

[May 30, 2024] 

At the Monday, June 3, 2024, voting session of the Lincoln City Council, aldermen will be asked to vote their approval for hiring a part time code enforcement officer for the city.

At their committee of the whole meeting on Tuesday, May 28th, the council heard details and discussed how the new person would perform the duties of code enforcement.

It was shared that there is already a person waiting in the wings to be hired. Jason Lucas is a Lincoln Police Officer who will be retiring. He has talked with police chief Joe Meister and is prepared to take the position as soon as the council authorizes his hiring.

Ultimately, the position will be a “non-sworn” position within the Lincoln Police Department. The job duties will include working with other departments in response to code violation complaints such as lawn care violations, off street parking violations and more. The officer will also be working in the downtown area, monitoring parking and issuing citations when parking rules are broken.

According to Assistant Chief Matt Comstock, the position has been budgeted for, but will also generate revenue through the increase in fines tied to citations.

Alderwoman Wanda Lee Rohlfs asked if there was some type of reporting or monitoring that would be done so the council could track the success of the program. It was noted that citations and fines will be noted by the building and zoning office as well as the clerk and treasurers office. City Attorney John Hoblit said that he too would have opportunity to record the activities of the code enforcement officer through his annual report.

City Treasurer Chuck Conzo noted that there was a point in time a few years back when Glenn Shelton and the late Andy Anderson volunteered to monitor downtown parking. He said while those men were serving the city the fines for parking violations increased. When they two were no longer doing the monitoring, those revenues dropped dramatically. He anticipates that the new paid position will generate an increase in fines and thus revenues.

Alderman Kevin Bateman said that while yes, there would be an increase in fines, he wanted the citizens of the city to know that is not the sole reason for making this new change. He said the objective is to have better quality of life in residential communities by reducing yard waste, overgrown lots and other issues.

Assistant Chief Comstock said Lucas is an experienced officer, with an understanding of the city codes, and also an ability to relate to people in the community. Comstock said that Lucas would not simply go out issuing citations and fine. There would be opportunities to knock on doors and speak with property owners, encouraging them to make necessary improvements without facing fines and possible litigation.

Bateman said he felt that this would be effective, as sometimes there are reasons a person had neglected a property or may not understand the consequences of the neglect. If they have an opportunity to be warned, that may be all that is needed.

Rohlfs asked what the reporting process would be for herself for example. When she sees an issue does she contact the code enforcement officer directly or does she share her concerns with department heads like Walt Landers for a tall grass situation.

It was suggested by Bateman that she could use the app the city has provided just as the public is encouraged to do if she chose. Mayor Tracy Welch said otherwise, she would contact the department head and they would refer the concern to the enforcement officer for follow up.

Comstock said that one asset to having the officer is that he will be doing drive arounds in the community to spot issues on his own. He said this is going to save the building and zoning office and other departments from making time in their schedules for such tasks.

With little more to discuss the hiring of a part time Code Enforcement Officer was placed on the June 3rd agenda. The motion reads “Approval of the hiring of a part time Code Enforcement Officer with an hourly salary of $25 per hour.”

As is always the case, the council has the right to table any motion if they feel they are not fully prepared to make an informed decision.

[Nila Smith]