Siskiyou County Grand Jury
• 2021-2022
Code Enforcement: Challenges and Opportunities
⚠️ Aviso de traducción: Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.
⚠️ Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.
Findings and Recommendations 9 findings
F1
Violations outnumber the ability of Code Enforcement to do its job.
Related Recommendations (1)
R1
The Board of Supervisors should prioritize public health and safety complaints during the 2022/2023 fiscal year.
F2
Those who are responsible to enforce Siskiyou County Codes find them confusing, inconsistent, and insufficient.
Related Recommendations (1)
R2
The Board of Supervisors should review and strengthen the County Codes necessary to support code enforcement goals. Each code section should outline the violation and its method of enforcement.
F3
Communication between County departments responsible for code enforcement needs improvement.
Related Recommendations (1)
R3
The Board of Supervisors will direct the development of a written process to communicate with all involved departments for any code enforcement case. These written processes should be developed into standard operating procedure manual beginning November 1, 2022.
F4
The Code enforcement department suffers from high turnover reducing its effectiveness.
Related Recommendations (1)
R4
The Board of Supervisors should focus on supporting Code Enforcement officers, ensuring adequate training and shall require ongoing communication among all departments starting immediately.
F5
Code Enforcement staff are insufficiently trained for the work they are required to do.
Related Recommendations (1)
R5
The Board of Supervisors should task Community Development department to establish written procedures for training new Code Enforcement officers before sending them to work in the field. Ongoing training should occur annually beginning September 1, 2022.
F6
Code Enforcement officers often work in unsafe situations causing delays in enforcement.
Related Recommendations (1)
R6
The Board of Supervisors should evaluate the need for policy change to allow Code Enforcement officers to be armed or to work in tandem with a Sheriff Deputy 13 dedicated to Code Enforcement beginning September 1, 2022.
F7
Access to code enforcement information through the Siskiyou County website is challenging as it is in multiple places and uses different formats.
Related Recommendations (1)
R7
The Board of Supervisors will direct the update and consolidation of the multiple web pages referencing code enforcement to be consistent
F8
While there are multiple ways to make a complaint there is little instructional information.
Related Recommendations (1)
R8
The Board of Supervisors will direct the update of all code enforcement forms should contain contact information and instruction for completion
F9
The Siskiyou County General Plan is outdated which impacts successful code enforcement results.
Related Recommendations (1)
R9
The Board of Supervisors should create a plan to prioritize updating the General Plan focusing on the elements of highest concern to the citizens of Siskiyou, utilizing the free tools, and low-cost resources available through the Governor’s Office.
Conclusions 1
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CL1 Page 12Code Enforcement officers are caught between their employers who want results and angry citizens who do not want interference in their activities. If a person is angry or violent, Code Enforcement officers must wait for Law Enforcement to accompany them, yet there may not be a Law Enforcement officer available. Things are changing and there are successes. A few HOAs are on the road to being cleaned up. This has been achieved because HOAs, Code Enforcement officers and the Sheriff are highly motivated to ensure their efforts come to successful resolution. Multiple agencies are working hard. Citations have been given and hearings are set to enforce or to collect fines. To date, a considerable number of fines have been levied. The collected fines have helped purchase equipment such as protective gear. A new account has been established in which fines are being held for the purchase of equipment and training for code enforcement officers, to pay for hearing officers, for the abatement of properties and for outside legal assistance to manage enforcement cases. 12
No Responses Found 2
Government entities assigned to respond to this report. No response documents have been linked in our database.
Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors
Elected County Office
Siskiyou County Sheriff
Elected County Office