Council Moves to Create Special Magistrate for Code Enforcement

In an effort to keep their city safe and attractive, the Gulfport City Council voted 4-1, during first reading, to proceed with a plan creating the position of Special Magistrate. The new job is part of an overall review of some of the city's Code Enforcement procedures.

It could be way for Gulfport to keep the code enforcement system—and the fines collected—closer to home by offering an alternative to going to county courts.

Gulfport's Special Magistrate will serve as a hearing officer for Code Enforcement and Nuisance Abatement. It could provide both residents and the city an alternative to costly legal action.

Council Member Jennifer Salmon cast the only dissenting vote at the City Council meeting Tuesday night. She was concerned that adding a Special Magistrate to the city's payroll violated the "separation of powers."

Salmon doubted that a person paid by the city could be impartial. She also suggested that the city provide a list of codes the Magistrate would be handling. 

According to the proposed Gulfport Ordinance 2011-21, hearings and fines would be at the discretion of the Magistrate, who would be an attorney, and will replace the costs in using the Pinellas County court system to punish violators.

Gulfport estimates initial costs for the Special Magistrate to be $8,400 for the first year, based on a total of $150 per hour. The position could also require the addition of a staff assistant to the city's payroll. That job could end up costing Gulfport an additional $28,000 per year.

"A percentage of expenses incurred would be offset by the fines assessed," as stated in the ordinance, "in concert with expanded-expedited resolutions and compliance." This wording suggests that the new procedures could result in an increased number of citations with more revenue from fines.

The top issues for code enforcement in Gulfport include problems such as tall grass, high weeds on alleyways, non-operative or unlicensed vehicles and the accumulation of garbage and debris. The job of Special Magistrate will be to call monthly code violation hearings. Cases could be more frequent if directed by the City Manager.

Vice Mayor David Hastings told the City Council Tuesday night that the current system needed reform. He sees the purpose of the initiative is to help Gulfport move away from a "complaint driven" system to a proactive way of handling problems such as excessive trash and tall grass.

Hastings said that Gulfport should be more hands-on for code enforcement.

"The complaint driven system doesn’t work," Hastings said. "What we need is to be more aggressive enforcing the laws on the books. This Special Magistrate system does just that."

Creating the office of a Special Magistrate in Gulfport will now proceed to a second reading, which includes public input and a final vote. The second reading will be at the November 1 meeting at Gulfport City Hall.

The next Gulfport City Council meeting is 7 p.m. Tuesday, October 18, 2011 at City Hall. Gulfport City Hall is located at 2401 53rd St. S.