In its most fundamental description, code enforcement is a jurisdiction’s method of ensuring that its own established and adopted community standards are complied with, and given an opportunity to work as intended. Gaining compliance with local citizens, property owners, and businesses through public information, education, outreach, effective communication skills, diplomatic negotiating, reasonable interpretation, and when necessary, formal enforcement and prosecution, are all key elements of successful code compliance operations.
Our main goal in any Code Compliance Department is to increase the productivity of each staff member by identifying inefficiencies and optimizing these weaknesses. The first step is to outfit each officer with a completely mobile working environment via Gov-Easy software, mobile hardware, and a vehicle. This allows the officer to remain in the field for 95% of their day, where they are most needed and effective. In most cases, CGA is able to cover the costs for our own operation by reducing costs via optimizing our staff and enhancing property conditions, managing the living environment, and assisting the municipality to increase their local tax base. In the City of Pompano Beach, we were able to increase resident satisfaction with the department by 49% in just four short years.
The more effective and successful a code enforcement operation is in a community, the less apparent, intrusive, and heavy handed it will appear. A history of well-crafted and intended community standards, pursued with an attitude of facilitating individuals in understanding the benefits of the same, yields conditions that become self-sustaining. To that effect CGA’s approach leads to the following:
- Improved staff operating efficiencies
- Current, real-time data availability to staff and public
- Shorter processing times to gain code compliance
- Improved customer service and education
- Data storage and record keeping automation
- Reduced complaints
- Increased overall resident and municipality staff satisfaction
