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Corignani staying, but future of code enforcement department still uncertain

By MARCIE SCHELLHAMMER
Era Reporter
marcie@bradfordera.com

Rumors that Code Enforcement Officer George Corignani is retiring at the end of the year are not true, Corignani said Thursday. However, rumors that code enforcement is in for some big changes are not as easy to address.

Officials with the City of Bradford all seem to agree that a code enforcement department is necessary. Where the disagreement comes in is whether or not it should remain under the auspices of the city’s paid fire department.

“If Mr. (Tom) Riel gets his way, it’s not going to be with the fire department,” Corignani said.

Riel, who has been the city’s mayor since January 2008, has been an outspoken critic of the code enforcement department, and believes code enforcement would operate better under the auspices of a different city department.

Riel said, “Without question a code enforcement officer does not need to be a paid fireman. I feel code enforcement should be taken out of the fire department and given to the OECD (Office of Economic and Community Development) and run far more efficiently and perhaps for half the money.

“I would love to change it,” Riel said. “Restructure it and have it moved out of the fire department. I wish (it was changed) yesterday. Heck, I wish it was done months ago.

“But I’m only one vote of five,” Riel said. “What I want and what council wants are very often different. I don’t think as a group any decision has been made.

“To me it’s not a political issue. It’s my personal belief. The department is a failure,” Riel said.

Ross Neidich, the councilman who oversees the fire department, doesn’t agree that the department is a failure. He explained that some time ago, officials from the OECD and code enforcement, along with Riel and Neidich, met to discuss how to improve the efficiency of the department.

He said numerous changes were discussed, and this is the first calendar year the department has operated with the changes in effect.

“I want to see a little more confidence in what we’ve started,” Neidich said, “and see where it goes and then make a decision based on facts. Things have been put out there that it can be more effectively run through an outside agency or OECD. Show me the numbers if that’s the case. Let’s see these in cold hard facts. I haven’t seen any.”

“I have not heard one word on how it would work if the OECD took it over,” Corignani said.

Neidich asked if code enforcement is moved to another department, where will the revenue go from the inspections? And, he and Corignani asked, will the other agency be willing to take on the grunt work — high grass, dog feces, junk cars, tarps on roofs and deep snow on sidewalks — that is part of the daily tasks of a code enforcement officer.

“Would we still have to have someone handle those complaints?” Neidich asked. “If it’s a private agency, they’re going to take the gravy, but they aren’t going to want to do the complaints that don’t generate revenue.”

The councilman said he’s seen a marked improvement in code enforcement since the changes have taken effect. The council has passed ordinances that back up the actions the officers are taking. Special counsel has been retained to go after people who aren’t compliant.

These things need time to work, he said.

“We’ve done it a year,” Neidich said of the changes in the department. “Let’s take a look at it, respond to where we think we can do better and go from there.

“I think we need to continue what we’re currently doing even more, and then if we’ll see,” Neidich said. “If that’s still not working to the best interest of all the citizenry, then let’s see what’s the next step.”

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