Police May Take Over Code Enforcement

The City of may soon be taking over code enforcement duties from the city's Development Services Department. The Douglasville City Council will vote on the matter during their city council meeting on Monday night.

Several factors made now the right time to consider the move, according to Douglasville City Mangaer Bill Osborne.

Most important of which may be that only two of the three code enforcement positions are currently filled because Richard Todd McAllister, Douglasville's former chief code enforcement officer, is facing five counts of furnishing alcohol to minors after the death of 16-year-old Cheyenne Sauls in an alcohol-related car accident on Feb. 19. Read here for Douglasville Patch story on Sauls' death.

McAllister is currently, "dealing with maintenance responsibilities," Osborne said, pending a trail.

Osborne said influencing his decision to recommend the move to the mayor and city council was the fact that the new public safety building can accommodate the space requirements associated with code enforcement and it's also time for the council to approve a new budget anyway. The move will mean approximately a five percent adjustment to the city's budget, with funds going from the Developmental Services Department to the Police Department. Read here for the Douglasville Patch story on the city's proposed budget.

"It did not make a lot of difference," Osborne said. "It's basically the salaries of two entry-level police officers." A plan under consideration would promote police officers into code enforcement positions and then hire replacement entry-level police officers.

Osborne said that Connie Phillips and Jimmy Hitchcock, the remaining two code enforcement employees, are being considered for other city government positions. "There are vacancies that are a good fit for them," Osborne said. "They will also be training the police officers during the transition period."

During recent city council committee and work sessions, some city council members have questioned the idea of having armed police officers in the role of code enforcement.

"You can make the argument this makes more sense," Osborne said. "The police are already enforcing city ordinances. We've talked to several communities that are already taking this approach. We stress community-oriented police. The police wear a weapon as part of their uniform and carry weapons all the time. They are already involved in the community and the fact that they're wearing a weapon is something the public isn't focused on. That in and of itself is not a threat.

"The police already deal with a lot of things related to zoning," he said. "The police are already in the community this is just another way to do that. We take an educational approach (to code enforcement). We're trying to get (residents) to do the right thing. We're not taking the approach of catching them for doing the wrong thing."

Osborne said he thinks the change will also mean better results.

"I think they'll be even more efficient," he said. "Of course they have to become acquainted with the job. We've had good code enforcement but I think this will take it up a notch."