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HomeMy WebLinkAbout24- Mayor rrrrr CITY OF SAN BERNARDINO REQUEST FOR COUNCIL ACTION From: Tom Minor, Mayor Subject: City .support of Volunteer OR Code Education Dept: hL Date: March 25 , 1996 Synopsis of Previous Council action: Recommended motion: 1 . Direct staff to actively support the code education efforts of the City' s neighborhood and business associations; 2 . Allocate $2 , 400 from account 001-092-5181 (General Government) to allow for the start of code education support by the City; an 3 . Direct staff to allocate the equivalent of three officers to support and respond to complaints referred by various associations, pending approval of the City' s CDBG application. -- _ l Signature Contact person: Lori Sassoon Phone: 5122 Supporting data attached: yes Ward: FUNDING REQUIREMENTS: Amount:_ $2 .,400 Source: (Acct. No.) 001-092-5181 Acct. Description) Finance: n Council Notes: Z/// 75-0262 L/ Agenda Item rho r Over the last several months, City staff has had discussions with leaders of various business and residential groups that are interested in improving the appearance of their neighborhoods. It is felt that if the City supports the efforts of these enthusiastic residents, the groups can be even more effective. The purpose of this staff report is to outline how the City can work with the groups, and to request a small budget to assist in their endeavors. Of course, code enforcement remains the responsibility of the City. While we are seeking to improve our code enforcement effectiveness in various ways, including the consolidation of code enforcement functions into a single unit, a partnership with community groups will also be important. Background Currently, a resident or business that has a concern about a nearby property usually has no other recourse except to call Code Compliance and make a complaint. In essence, traditional code compliance requires that neighbors "tell" on each other. Rather than building relationships in the community, these small issues often divide. In order to provide an alternative and set a more positive tone, some neighborhood and business groups have begun code education programs. Instead of "reporting" a neighbor to the authorities, the groups themselves have started to send letters that politely call attention to the problem, explain how the group is working to improve the neighborhood, and ask that the owner and/or tenant address the problem. Such a system has been used for almost 20 years by community groups in the City of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In Milwaukee, the level of involvement in such programs varies from group to group. Some larger neighborhoods do annual property surveys, reviewing every property in the neighborhood and sending letters to request correction of problems. Other groups, usually in smaller neighborhoods, do ongoing reviews and letter writing. The City of Milwaukee plays a support role to the efforts of the neighborhood groups. The city provides training, manuals for use during surveys, assistance in planning for public relations events, printouts of current open code enforcement cases, access to computer records, sample letters, and so forth. Milwaukee's program has been successful because the groups have learned how to effectively use peer pressure. The local newspaper and television media have also been supportive. The groups have done everything from staging protests in front of blighted buildings to naming the "Scariest House on the Block" on Halloween each year. Again, these activities are initiated and carried out by the neighborhood associations with the support of the city. Over the last two years, many neighborhoods in the city have formed neighborhood action groups. The members of these groups are active, responsible members of the community, and they have a great desire to improve their neighborhoods and the city of San Bernardino as a whole. Some groups have already begun sending letters to property owners in their areas that ask the owners to maintain their properties. City Involvement in Code Education It is recommended that the City of San Bernardino begin to provide significant support to our neighborhood and business associations' code education programs. As previously stated, several are already involved in these activities. The support I am proposing will be remain flexible so as to meet the particular needs of each group. These ideas have evolved from discussions with leaders from the various neighborhood and business associations. Initial Informational Mailing Many code violations are not the result of willful disregard for the law, but simply from lack of awareness. In order to address that problem, the associations would like to send an educational mailer once a year. The mailer will include a letter from the association, and an insert that summarizes the City's property maintenance codes. It will be sent to every household in the neighborhood association areas, and every business in the business association areas, for a total of approximately 30,000 parcels. We will ask associations to assist by stuffing envelopes and sorting the mailers by zip code, so that the mailing can be done at bulk rate. The total cost for this mailing will be approximately $5,000. Quarterly Newsletter A quarterly inter-association newsletter will be produced by the City and will include articles on the activities of all the associations. Association members will be able to learn what concepts are working in other groups, what successes the groups are having in impacting the community, and so forth. The newsletter will help unify the groups, while their individual identities are preserved. The newsletter content will be supplied by the groups, and a editorial board composed of members from the various groups will approve the contents of the newsletter. The City Administrator's Office will publish and mail the newsletter to all association members. The cost of printing and mailing to the 2,500 association members is estimated to be $1,200 per issue, or $4,800 annually. Printing and Mailing Assistance The associations will be incurring the costs of printing, copying, and mailing letters that point out property maintenance concerns and request clean up or repairs. In order to help defray the expenses associated with the letters, the City will reimburse each group up to a maximum annual amount. The maximum reimbursements will be based on the number of parcels located within each association area. M.I.S. is in the process of entering parcel data which will be used to determine the number of parcels in each association area. Once that is determined, the total amount of funding designated for postage will be divided proportionately among the groups. The total funding recommended for printing and mailing assistance is $2,000. Training Many residents expressed a desire to receive training from the City regarding issues surrounding code education. The City Attorney's Office will be coordinating this training, which will involve staff from various departments. The nominal costs associated with the training will be absorbed by participating departments. Staff Support Sufficient staff support will be critical to the success of the volunteers involved in code education. If an association is unable to persuade an owner in its area to maintain a given property, then they will refer that property to the City's Code Compliance Division. Given current staffing levels in the division, as well as staffing in other departments involved in code enforcement, it will be difficult to provide timely follow-up on these referrals. It is likely that only the most serious complaints would receive the immediate attention of City staff. Without responsive follow-up by the City, the neighborhood and business associations may not be able to achieve high rates of voluntary compliance from their neighbors. If the community knows that the associations' letters have no real substance behind them, the associations will likely lose their effectiveness. Last fall, Planning and Building Services applied for CDBG funding for the Neighborhood Revitalization program. The application was for the continued funding of three code enforcement officers in that program, as well as an additional three officers and support staff. It is recommended that if the City does receive three additional code enforcement officers through CDBG, that the equivalent of three officers be designated for complaint response. This arrangement would allow for sufficient staff resources to respond to the increased number of complaints brought forward by our neighborhood and business associations. The association members have supported this idea, and have attended several meetings of the CDBG Citizen Advisory Committee to express their support. We have communicated to the groups that because of restrictions on the use of CDBG funding, the new officers may not be directly assigned to their groups if they are not located in low- moderate housing areas. However, the additional staff will allow existing City staff to handle the increased number of complaints that will be received. EDA Support Because the associations are committed to promoting good relationships among neighbors, many will be assisting property owners in making repairs and cleaning up properties. Some of the associations have asked about City assistance with supplies and materials. We will be working with the groups to make them aware of the resources available through the City's contract with Los Padrinos. Also, EDA staff has made$500 available for an initial stock of supplies, and will be keeping the associations informed of the various home improvement grants and loans that are available through the Agency. Recognition Awards The members of these neighborhood and business organizations should be recognized for their volunteer efforts. The award winners will be nominated monthly by the newsletter editorial board, members of the associations, and City staff; the editorial board will select those who should receive the awards. Those selected will be volunteers and/or whole associations who have contributed significantly to improving their neighborhoods through code education. Those recognized will receive a certificate and a lapel pin from the Mayor at a City Council meeting. The total annual cost for these awards will be $400.00. Budget Issues For the first year of support, the cost for all the activities listed above is estimated as follows: Inter-Association newsletter $ 4,800.00 (4 issues @ $1,200 each) Annual educational mailing 5,000.00 (30,000 mailers) Mayor's Recognition Awards 400.00 Postage/mailing reimbursements 4,000.00 TOTAL: $ 14,200.00 It is recommended that $2,400 be allocated from 001-092-5181 (General Government) to allow City staff to begin this program in the current fiscal year. This will allow the first issue of the inter-association newsletter to be produced, and for some postage and mailing reimbursements for groups already involved in sending letters. The full annual cost for this code education support will be requested in the FY 1996-97 budget. Recommendations It is recommended that the Common Council: 1) Direct staff to actively support the code educations efforts of the City's neighborhood and business associations; 2) Allocate $2,400 from account 001-092-5181 (General Government) to allow for the start of code education support by the City; and 3) Direct staff to allocate the equivalent of three officers to support and respond to complaints referred by various associations, pending approval of the City's CDBG application.