4.1. SR 04-21-2003 - Laserfiche WebLink

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TO: FROM: DATE: SUBJECT: MEMORANDUM Mayor and Council Pat Klaers, City Administrator April 18, 2003 Review Procedures and Policies Regarding Complaints and Ordinance Violations Item 4. I. Since the R.C. Rolloff situation this past summer, staff has held at least five meetings to review communication between citizens and staff and to review communication between staff members and to determine what City response/action is appropriate when a citizen complaint is received. Nine different staff members have attended at least one of the staff meetings, and the majority (Phil H., Chris J., Bruce W., Jeff B., Sandy P., Steve R., and Michele M.) attended at least three of the meetings. Attached for your review and consideration is a summary of the consensus that staff reached regarding procedures and policies for how the City should address complaints from citizens and ordinance violations. Most of the information in the attached memo reflects current practice for the City. The changes from past practice are minor and are mainly in the enforcement area, whereby Chris Johnson, as the staff city attorney, will get involved earlier than when we previously got Peter Beck involved with the situation. Staff felt it was important to put down in writing the policies and procedures that the City follows in addressing public complaints. In general, the City Council should consider and approve the policies and the enforcement procedure section while the balance of the memo is provided simply for your information. The City does not have a full-time code compliance officer, but historically, code compliance has mainly been in the Building/Zoning Department. Steve's memo outlines a more even distribution of responsibility for addressing citizen complaints, specifically move responsibility to the Police and Planning Departments. As part of this follow up to the R.C. Rolloff situation and our staff discussion on communication and staff response to citizen complaints, we came to the conclusion that a complaint tracking software would be helpful and appropriate for the City. This led us to the Request Partner software program and the presentation that was made to the City Council on March 24, 2003. Staff support for ti'tis program remains strong. Recommendation: It is recommended that the City Council adopt the procedures and policies regarding complaints and ordinance violations as outlined in the attached memo from Steven Rohlf, Building and Zoning Admimstrator. &Council/Pat/agenda item 4.1 memo