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HomeMy WebLinkAboutIR 6925 INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 6925 r I To the Mayor and Members of the City Council March 20, 1984 u�s »rE%Pyi Subject: ENVIRONMENTAL CON'T'ROL UPDATE BACKGROUND During the budget process for FY 82-83, the City Council approved a reorganization plan creating the Environmental Control Division (BCD) in the Department of City Services (I.R. No. 3744) . The reorganization was undertaken to more effectively deal with environmental problems invol- ving litter, illegal dumping, substandard housing, zoning violations, junked vehicles, and high weeds, in response to Council's concern for these problems. Prior to the reorganization in October 1982, inspection functions had been located in three departments. Substandard housing inspection had been a division of the Housing and Community Development Department; zoning inspection had been a division of the Department of Development; and environmental and weed control inspection had been functions of the Health Department. EMPLOYEE TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT Staffed with eighteen employees trained in three other departments, the new division initially was unable to operate at optimum efficiency. Chief among the integration problems were lack of training in all three ! disciplines by inspectors and the large disparity between the salaries of those employees formerly in the Health Deartment (lowest paid) and those in the Development Department (highest paid) . To address the training needs, an immediate program of cross-training was implemented. In this program, an inspector from one of the previous disciplines was teamed with an inspector from another discipline (for example, zoning inspectors worked with housing inspectors). This method of training served the dual purpose of familiarizing staff members with one another and providing an advanced form of on-the-job training. To correct the salary disparity, a test was developed to determine the proficiency of inspectors in the areas of zoning, health, and housing upon completion of their formal cross-training. Successful completion of all three sections of the test enables an employee to reach the Inspector III level; completion of two sections entitles an employee to the Inspector II level; and completion of one section is required for an Inspector I. To date, all eighteen inspectors have been tested and pre- sently there are five employees at the Inspector III level, four at the Inspector II level, and nine at the Inspector I level. This process has created a greater degree of salary parity among the division employees and improved staff morale. ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER -- FORT WORTH, TEXAS INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 6925-p.2 T AFO ffORl�p To the Mayor and Members of the City Council March 20, 1984 u�. _ x TexP`'. Subject: ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL UPDATE e�3 HOUSING INSPECTION ACTIVITY Activity concerning housing inspection has slowed somewhat since the formation of the new division. The following figures represent the comparative activity of housing inspection prior to aryl since the creation of the Environmental Control division: Monthly Averages Type of Activity Oct 81-Sept 82 Oct 82-Sept 83 Oct 83-Jan 84 Initial Surveys 360 200 131 Notices of Violation 265 163 220 Citations 162 60 15 Units Repaired 280 168 149 Demolitions* 59 39 19 * Figures represent a combination of voluntary and City-ordered demolitions. Several factors have accounted for the slowing of activity in this area. First, the cross-training for housing inspection is quite time-consuming due to the intricacies of the housing code. Staff training is a constant, on-going process and greater efficiency is being achieved, as future reports will indicate. Secondly, the Department of Law has issued a different, more restrictive interpretation of the City Code as it relates to the timeframe for identifying and requiring action on sub-standard structures. The new procedures established for writing up structures as sub-standard gives property owners an additional sixty (60) days before any initial action may be taken by the City to bring structures up to Code specitifications. This change has caused a drastic reduction in . the total number of cases. However, the Environmental Control adninstrative staff believes the latest opinion from the Department of Law to be a correct interpretation of the ordinance. Thirdly, the Division is seeking to reduce the number of citations issued and instead elicit more voluntary compliance from property owners. OVERALL, DIVISION ACTIVITY Productivity for the Environmental Control Division is measured by the volume of compliance, with voluntary compliance as the main priority. The division also tracks the number of citations written, the number of lots mowed, and the nutmber of substandard dwellings demolished. The information listed below provides a more detailed profile of division activity for the 1982 and 1983 fiscal years and the 1984 fiscal year to date. L ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER - FORT WORTH, TEXAS INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 6925-p.3 aorrr To the Mayor and Members of the City Council March 20, E �p rExP`�• Subject: ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL UPDATE Totals for Fiscal Year Type of Activity Oct 81-Sept 82 Oct 82-Sept 83 Oct 83-Jan 84 Complaints Received 17,903 19,962 3,653 fran Public Comnplaints Initiated 42,376 47,450 12,237 by Inspectors Notices Issued 22,367 24,651 7,274 Citations Issued 1,897 1,361 622 Voluntary Ccmmpliance 6,443 11,954 4,084 Achieved Lots Mowed 1,615 2,150 917 Weed Liens Billed $35,247 $214,653 $ 63,663 Weed Liens Collected $58,199 $134,315 $ 22,960 Structures Demolished 52 30 5 Demolition Charges $73,000 $ 54,859 $ 23,215 Billed Demolition Charges $21,412 $ 48,439 $ 3,470 Collected As the bulk of ocmplaints and inspections occurs during the months of April through September, it is anticipated that total figures for the current fiscal year will surpass last year's results by at least twenty percent. For the current year, illegal dumping has been targeted as a major division priority. Inspectors will be required to work evenings and weekends to reduce the level of this activity. Information from the City Manager's Office and the Action Center indicates that the number of repeat environmental control complaints fran citizens has been curtailed significantly in recent months. The Environmental Control Division attributes this progress to the policy of stressing quality over quantity, by working each oanplaint thoroughly in order to achieve canpliance. The staff is available to answer any additional questions the Council may have concerning the activities of the Environmental Control Division. bert L. Herchert City Manager ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER -- FORT WORTH, TEXAS