I received a comment for another blog this morning that I did not post. It does get old when you get snide remarks or those that hit on your credibility. You don't agree with someone and they call you a liar...normal BS tactics. This is what the anonymous poster said who obviously hates Jennings and Stanton: Lynn get out of yours.. Between Cara and Stanton code was almost eliminated and you know it as does everyone else in lake worth. If you can not tell the truth, not just what you think is true then post something other than Facts of Lake Worth.. Maybe you could go back to your best friend Allen West.
The comment above prompted me to write on Code Enforcement, a sticky issue within our city and a very big problem in some of the neighborhoods but issues that are evident in most all of them. I honestly do not believe that we could ever clean up the code problems in our city no matter how many officers we would have on payroll. We have way too many absentee landlords who don't give a hot damn. We also have an immigration situation with people who have come from other cultures who don't understand ours or don't want to. We have had an irrigation law that relegated us to one time per week where lawns literally died making a lot of houses look blighted.
Back in September 2009, the then city manager Susan Stanton wanted to merge two departments: Community Development Department Code Division (Code Enforcement) from 17 employees this includes secretarial staff and the like) down to 7 and the Community Development Department Building Permit (Building Permit Dept) down from 11 employees to 7 for a grand total of 14 employees. It was literally cut in half. A few employees were moved to the Conservation Department. Lay-offs were imperative because of a multi-million dollar budget shortfall and the thinking was by merging the departments, there would be more efficiency and less redundancy as well as reducing the expense. Our Code Department was not working well and new management with a new mindset was in place to change it from non-productive and to make a difference.
You can't spend money that you don't have, a philosophy that some have trouble with and when speaking of employee reductions, they continue to make it political.
Later we ended up with 6 code officers plus 2 in the CRA district for a total of 8. This has changed by one even though there are still some who continue to spread the lie that our Code Department was "gutted" because some commissioners love ghettos. Even the Lake Worth Herald Editorial this week said that Susan Stanton "did away with coded employees ( a true statement) leaving the department without manpower to inspect and enforce codes (an exaggerated statement and not totally the case) with the implication that she is to blame. This new budget was set in September and this commission did not add additional number of code enforcement officers to make a difference.
Back in 2010 Wayne Bergman spoke at a TRNA meeting and confirmed that we had 6 code enforcement officers and in the new budget cycle, the city would have one more. The Code department had been streamlined to be more efficient. Seven budgeted code officers were confirmed by the City Manager at that time.
Today, under new management and new budgets, we have 4 code enforcement officers and 2 JAG officers for a total of 6 code officers. The City has one additional code officer budgeted that will bring the total back to 7.
No matter the number, the city also has a huge amount of abandoned properties, 1,400 or so, and 60% rentals. Anytime I have called the code department over the past several years, they have acted on my complaint. We can't help stupid when staff issues permits to someone to sell mattresses and appliances off his front lawn. Departments need to cooperate with one another and staff must understand code in order to keep their job.
No matter how many officers you have, the City will never catch up until perhaps we have more home ownership and people have more disposable income available to fix the serious problems. Even poor people can bend over and pick up the trash.
10 comments:
to that anonymous poster, do you now get it your political cronies have not done anything to add more officers in our town. You still want to blAme everything on Susan Stanton. You had an opportunity to add more and you didn't. Stop the crap and stop blaming everyone for things when you are totally clueless. The city is in terrible shape. Let's get the mess cleaned up and end the blame game.
AMEN Lynn! And maybe the Department should priortize the areas of most need as a beginning point and concentrate efforts if there is not enough staff.
Lake Worth city staff continues to be the problem. On Wright drive and 6th ave south,a house is selling mattresses EVERY DAMNED WEEKEND!!!!The neighborhood has complained to everyone we can complain to in the city.INCLUDING do nothing city manager Bornstein!!Including the Sheriffs Dept.INCLUDING our dumb ass Commissioner Scot Maxwell!! (Scott is too busy kissing ass down in the Osborne neighborhood to do ANYTHING for the people west of I-95.) William Waters and his staff are to blame for this situation in my neighborhood. City staff SUCKS !!!
well let's get rid of all departments
Right on Lake avenue across from the new artist lofts coming up there was a full fledged sidewalk street market from one corner to another with old clothing, pot and pans, dingy stained strollers and much more in a make shift flea market with quite a few immigrants tending the improvised unauthorized open air flea market.
why cant anyone get this right--if we dont our city will continue to look run down and then we attract the ones we dont want---202 5th ave south has fines over 200,000 dollars --that mean our code dept is useless and i was told by code enforcement they can fine but is useless after that because the city doesnt follow through with anything
they rehired john kuztman who was fired==who ripped us off after telling us to do more then the inspector said was needed--it cost us 2000 more and it dint need to be done --when i asked kuztman he stated because i am telling you to do it---did the money go into his pocket or shared with others
Head of code is a joke- fired an employee because she "didn't like him", no, fired an employee because he was an honest man and knew his boss lied to citizens face to face! and waters has her back.
Raquel Diaz just called me to verify the number of code officers: 6 with 2 more budgeted.
the code department is useless --you want proff--drive up and down the streets other then lakeside palmway or golfview and you will have your answer people--if you have eyes you can get the truth yourself--if you have class you know what i mean---old homes falling apart--and so many run down drug infested hotels --lake worth where they come to rehab---right
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