Boone County has created a new standalone department that focuses on code enforcement and safety.
The fiscal court approved the hiring of three officials to staff the new department at its regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, July 23.
Boone County Engineer Rob Franxman explained that code enforcement responsibilities were previously housed underneath the county’s public works department, and the safety program was housed underneath its human resources department.
After a review, the county determined it made more sense to form a standalone department dedicated to code enforcement and safety. The new department is titled the Boone County Code Enforcement and Safety Department.
“These two areas have a significant overlap in the area of regulatory compliance and responsibility of the county to safety and health for both citizens and its employees,” Franxman said during the meeting.
The department will report directly to the Boone County engineer. The restructuring transferred one part-time and three full-time employees to the department. In addition, Boone County is looking to hire a second code enforcement officer to handle the volume of community requests.
The fiscal court appointed Nick Wilson as the director of the new department, Lisa Hoffman as the department’s deputy director, and Trey Works as chief code enforcement officer.
“The department will be led by a director with the aid of the deputy director and the deputy director will predominantly focus on the county safety risk management programs,” Franxman said.
Franxman noted that Boone County was building the department from within, elevating three employees with up to 70 years of combined experience serving the county.
Boone County Administrator Matthew Webster emphasized to the court and public that forming the department would not lead to the expansion of any prior rules and regulations.
“What we’re doing here tonight isn’t going beyond deficiencies,” Webster said. “We’re not expanding new codes, new rules and regulations. We will remain a complaint-driven department.”
If the department looks to expand its scope and responsibilities in the future, the proposed changes must be reviewed and voted on by the fiscal court, according to Webster.
“Overall, I think we could say that the intent here is to improve customer service and to improve our response to the citizens when issues are brought to our attention,” Judge/Executive Gary Moore said.
