In response to concerns about property maintenance, Stevens Point Mayor Mike Wiza will ask the City Council Committees permission to hire a Code Enforcement Officer at their June 13 meetings.
“We really need a dedicated Code Enforcement Officer to directly address violations,” Wiza said. “The two inspectors we currently have spend a great deal of time with building inspections, and with recent increases in economic activity, their time will be even more diverted to building inspections, as opposed to code enforcement, creating a need for this position.”
Wiza went on to say that the approval and hiring process may take a few months, giving property owners a chance to bring any problems back up to code and to be in compliance prior to this Fall, when enforcement will be stepped up. Property owners may review the City’s Building and Premises Maintenance / Occupancy Code on the City's website.
“It’s not like we’re going to stop doing what we’re doing until Fall. We will continue our normal enforcement, but once this new position is hired, I want owners to know they can expect enforcement to be more thorough. We’re not looking at singling anyone out. The enforcement will be the same for all properties, rentals or owner occupied,” Mayor Wiza said.
With the recent hiring of an inspector to fill the position vacated by the retiring Brent Curless, the Inspection Division is once again at full staff.
“We’ve looked at the funding for this position, and with the savings from not immediately filling the building inspector position upon Brent's retirement, we will be able to almost completely fund the position this year within the departmental budget. In future years, the City should be able to fund the position with salary and benefit savings within the department, with no increase to the budget.”