The Problem with Code Enforcement - Continued
Marco’s residents ranked code enforcement as one of the worst departments in city operations, second only to the City Council. We can do better.
Residents want a city government that gets results with high levels of customer satisfaction. Inadequate code enforcement contributes to the general lack of trust in the Marco Island city operations. Inadequate code enforcement can result from several root sources:
Poorly written ordinances. Not targeting the root cause of a city problem. Over-regulation or under-regulation.
Absence of city management systems. No process or procedure to follow. Lack of IT supports to track the myriad of tasks.
Inadequate staff to implement ordinances. “Holding the Line on Taxes” can eventually destroy a city government. Not providing adequate staff after an ordinance is passed is the same as voting against an ordinance.
No performance metrics to track the complaints related to poor code enforcement. Absence of information.
On the other hand, the Marco residents are delighted with the fire and police departments. These are the highest-rated departments on Marco. What processes and systems are in place in these departments that the code enforcement department could imitate? “Cross-pollination” of best practices from the fire and police departments might help the code enforcement department.
I can see no effort by the City of Marco Island to “fix” code enforcement. It is not a subject on the city council agenda. Let’s become a leader in code enforcement!
LET’S MAKE MARCO AWESOME!
Here is a link to the citizen survey:
Nanette Rivera
Candidate for Marco Island City Council