Request On-Hold: How Much Can One Person Do?

Lenoir City’s Codes Enforcement is a one-person department. She is responsible for:

1. inspection of sixteen commercial construction projects now underway;

2. inspection of thirty-two residential projects, for which permits are issued and/or pending;

3. ongoing municipal codes enforcement such as overgrown grass, dilapidated buildings, trash citations, etc.

4. Add to that even more development expected soon at Town Creek........NOT ENOUGH?

5. Add that people with environmental complaints, questions and concerns about code requirements, and inquiries about obtaining permits call the codes enforcement office expecting to reach someone who has the ability to answer their calls and address their concerns. But it’s hard to do the job at the office when the job requires leaving there!

Thus, codes officer Leslie Johnson laid out the justification for her request for an additional staff person on Monday, Sept 29th before the mayor and city council.

In the city’s fiscal year 2008-09 budget, revenues from permit fees were budgeted at $50,000. In just these first three months the office has collected $23,494 – more than 46 percent of the annual projection. Since revenues are that far over budget, you might expect the mayor & council to find some optimism of funding for the requested staff position – especially if the rosy picture of city finances painted on Mayor Brookshire’s reelection website is accurate.

But it was not to be. Instead, Brookshire told Ms Johnson that, financially speaking, the city is:

“....in dire straits, that’s just the fact of the matter” (exact quote).

If you’d like to view and hear a video of the mayor saying this, follow the accompanying link to The Hunter Report.