Exclusive Interview With Code Enforcement Officer Gene Canfield Inspection Department

we're here today with uh Jean Canfield a uh code enforcement officer of the the lake Inspection Department tell us a little bit about your duties I'm a code enforcement officer that uh is basically uh all the uh Town adopted ordinances uh in particular um Quality of Life uh issues such as trash and debris and uh overgrown Lawns and that type of thing just uh not exclusively Aesthetics but uh I would say uh primarily what are your most violated ordinances you deal with on a daily basis with without question uh trash and debris and high grass and weeds it's uh and once uh grass starts to grow It's Not Unusual that uh we send out 30 40 notices at a at a time because it the weather gets ahead of people and you know uh they they forget about uh they F forget about the grass also there's um given the large amount of rental units uh many times landlords will entrust those duties to their tenants uh assuming that uh they're acting in good faith and taking care of the property which uh many times they are or not so that's why those notices that's one of the big reasons that the notices go out now uh before somebody gets a summons is that uh how many notices go out it it depends generally if it's a first time um person we'll we'll send out a first notice we'll send out a second notice and then and then we'll go to summons if uh if it's somebody that we're dealing with on a regular basis that uh the assumption is that uh they they um they do know how the system operates they do know what the ordinances are and when they're in violation we sometimes send out one notice and then go to summons uh if you receive uh a summons within the uh within the following year period uh and you continue to um uh violate then we go right to summons we don't send out the notices but for the most part uh and and and generally this is the the case that the homeowner that really wasn't aware of it or or uh somebody that has one rental property that wasn't aware of what was going on with the property they are the the bulk of uh people that we're sending out too and um we make every effort to work with them if if we hear from them uh we make every effort to work with them to avoid having to give out a summons because in in in the end game is just getting it cleaned up if if we can get it cleaned up then everybody's you're not out there to get them huh no I'm not absolutely not contrary to what some may say I am not out to get anywhere now somebody but if I write the summons then it's a court matter and I I can't do anything if I if I don't write the summons and I hear from somebody and and they tell me you know I need another week to get rid of it or whatever the case is then then we'll we'll be happy to work with them right any other messages you want to get out to uh to homeowners and uh people out there the the message that I would want to get out to homeowners are if you get a notice give me a call and I will work with you I will bend over backwards to to accommodate you I'm just looking to get it uh cleaned up you know I I I work on on complaints if if I have a complaint I have to address it so if I can if I can get people that are willing to act in good faith I certainly will reciprocate thanks a lot you're welcome