CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The Clearlake Police Department on Wednesday urged community members to take part in addressing the increase in code enforcement cases in the city.
In a Wednesday report from Lt. Tim Celli, he said the city of Clearlake has seen an increase in illegal dumping activity.
He said it is believed that, in many instances, individuals have been hired to provide services such as property clean up or dump runs and rather than dispose of the items lawfully they are dumping refuse in isolated areas throughout the city.
Hiring a reputable company with proper licensing to perform these tasks can be beneficial but property owners need to understand that they could be held liable for the illegal dumping, Celli said.
If citizens choose to hire individuals out of the classified ads or other sources they should consider requiring a receipt for services rendered in addition to a receipt for the county landfill. Celli said this may help identify the individuals who are illegally dumping items and may help provide some protections to the property owner.
Even that may not totally absolve liability, he said. Illegal dumping is a crime with punishments ranging from monetary penalties to jail time depending on the offense. There also are environmental impact concerns that have separate penalties. Please be responsible and ensure your trash and debris is being disposed of properly.
In recent years, due to budgetary constraints, staffing and funding for public services has suffered throughout the country. Celli said the city of Clearlake has been no exception, suffering drastic budget cuts. One particular resource devastated by budgetary problems in the city of Clearlake has been code enforcement, which was cut in 2009.
Unfortunately the city is still recovering from budget cutbacks; however in an effort to try and regain some control of the growing code enforcement problem, city staff will be working on limited code enforcement issues, Celli said. At this time these issues will be limited to those extreme public health and safety concerns however there are many options being discussed for the future.
One of many options discussed is to utilize volunteer resources to assist with code enforcement duties, he said. There are many aspects to code enforcement with one such vital requirement being clerical duties.
At this time the city of Clearlake is accepting volunteer applications from persons interested in volunteering their time for code enforcement, particularly with respect to clerical duties, Celli said. Some of these duties may include taking information on code enforcement complaints, returning phone calls, keeping track of paperwork, typing and mailing notices as well as many other essential functions.
If city residents have public safety code enforcement complaints that need immediate attention, or wish to submit a volunteer application, please contact Julie Burrow at Clearlake City Hall, 707-994-8201.