City moving forward with property code investigator position
COSHOCTON – Not all of council is on board, but the third reading for an ordinance to accept the job description of property code investigator received enough yes votes for the city to move forward with the position.
Coshocton City Councilmen Jim Baker, Bob Fetters and Tom Grier voted no on the ordinance and Brad Fuller, Roger Moore, Glenn Mishler, and Jackie Salmans supported it with yes votes.
Fetters felt the job description was not detailed enough because it didn’t specifically mention dealing with the issues of junk cars and dilapidated properties.
“The process we have for dealing with junk cars is a slow one, but it is working,” Fetters said.
Baker’s issue is with paying this part time person $25,000 a year.
“As I’ve said in the past we are not the richest city in the state,” he said. “I think we can put that money to better use especially when we’ve volunteered our time in the past to do this through committees like the housing committee. We need that money somewhere else.”
Moore, however, feels this position could generate money for the city and help them make up the cost of the person’s salary.
Mayor Steve Mercer agreed with Moore and felt the position could help bring in more revenue in building permits and help the city with tasks such as inventorying abandoned properties.
Biggers said he greatly appreciates all the volunteer hours council members have put into trying to enforce codes, but feels this position will bring the city up another level.
“We want Coshocton to not just be a place that people drive through,” he said. “We want it to be somewhere they stop and spend some money in.”
Biggers commended Baker for all he and other council members have done.
“Your work has been stellar and it came from the heart, but it really isn’t in your job description,” he said. “I know change is hard.”
Baker mentioned that he also was concerned about how the residents would view the city creating this new position.
“We just had to raise water rates, trash went up and individuals here got increases,” he said. “I don’t think we look good in the eyes of the City of Coshocton.”
Biggers disagreed with Baker, noting that the citizens of Coshocton recently passed to levies to help with street repairs and safety issues in the city.
“I believe they know we are trying to move the city forward and make Coshocton a better place to live,” Biggers said.
Grier’s concern with the property code investigator position was how it will be filled.
“Every city resident should be notified of it and allowed to apply then considered with the qualifications and application they submit instead of it just being offered to a certain few,” Grier said. “I don’t think we ever stated where people could apply for this job.”
Mayor Mercer said the job was open to any qualified candidate and they could submit their resume to his office at city hall.
josie@coshoctoncountybeacon.com
Category: Government
