Clearlake Police Chief Andrew White, whose department oversees Animal Control and Code Enforcement, asked the council to add an office assistant II and a limited-term Code Enforcement officer I/II to the position allocations in the current fiscal year.
White’s written report said the office assistant II will cost $42,000 for regular salary and benefits for the remainder of the fiscal year, with the funds to be spread between the general fund
and Community Development Block Grant funding for Code Enforcement.
The Code Enforcement officer job will cost $45,000 for regular salary and benefits for the rest of the fiscal year, and will be paid for by Community Development Block Grant funds in the Code Enforcement budget.
White said that they’re seeing an increase in lobby traffic, with the police department sharing a Code Enforcement staffer to work with the public.
“Based upon our looking at the issue, it seems to be primarily due to an increase in enforcement activity” – primary in Code Enforcement, Animal Control and citation issuance, White said.
He said he thinks that traffic will grow as efforts continue to modernize ordinances and clean up the city, citing ordinances regarding commercial property and abandoned vehicles, and planned updates to the city’s rental ordinance.
The office assistant’s primary job would be to handle lobby traffic, and when not busy there would also handle filing and answering calls. White said the new position would allow the department to reopen the lobby five days a week; currently it’s only open four.
The police department is now acting as a public safety answering point, and White said without the additional lobby staffing a dispatcher would have to leave their desk to open the lobby, which also presents a safety issue.
As for the new Code Enforcement officer job, White said it’s necessary due to the continuing effort to abate blight and nuisance vegetation, as well as ongoing and increased enforcement actions.
He said there are many more cases the division could open with additional staffing, which would improve the city. There is more money to deal with abandoned vehicles and additional money available through Community Development Block Grant funding.
White said a part-time, extra help Code Enforcement officer I position recently was filled on a trial basis. That individual currently is being trained and is helping with a backlog of clerical work; he said that officer will learn field work and will concentrate on abandoned vehicle removal.
He asked the council to update the position to a limited term for the current fiscal year, on a trial basis. Continuing it would require the approval of the city manager.
White said they wouldn’t make a permanent change to the staffing until they see if the trial program works out. He added that he asked for the position to be on a limited term due to its dependence on grant funding.
In both Animal Control and Code Enforcement, White said they are seeing significantly increased revenues.
Since May, they have issued 1,300 administrative citations through Code Enforcement, averaging 329 citations a month. White said they’ve created more than 950 new cases, averaging 237 new cases a month.
The city hadn’t previously had an effective animal licensing program, but they’ve renewed their efforts, with the revenue used to offset the tremendous expense of running Animal Control, White said.
Since May, they have sold 522 dog licenses, or 130 a month, he reported.
Councilwoman Joyce Overton said she and others have had problems getting return calls from Code Enforcement. In one case, Overton said she received no call back.
White said they are working to replace the phones and, in the meantime, are routing all calls through one staffer who directs and tracks them.
Councilman Phil Harris asked if they could add a digital kiosk to city hall to help with lobby traffic.
White said they are in the process of putting a kiosk in the lobby for filing reports and paying citations, which also can be paid online.
He said not everyone in the community is digitally connected and some prefer to talk to people; in those cases, if a staffer can explain the situation, they can get compliance.
Overton moved to approve the position allocations, and was joined by the rest of the council in voting for it.
In other business on Thursday, the council accepted staff’s proposal to reject the two bids for the double chip seal project in the Southwest Avenues, with the bids from two contractors coming in at $148,200 and $213,000 – while the city engineer’s estimate was $70,000. The project is to be funded by Measure V road tax funds.
The council also approved a memorandum of understanding between the city of Clearlake and the Middle Management Association for the period of July 1, 2019, to June 30, 2021, and directed Overton to vote for conference resolutions at the upcoming League of California Cities annual conference.
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091219 Clearlake City Council Agenda Packet by LakeCoNews on Scribd