La Gaceta: The City of Tampa has 10 people in code enforcement supervising 33

The City of Tampa pays its employees some of the highest wages in the area. It is not competitive pay, it's unnecessarily high.

Tampa's wages allow it to steal employees away from other governments and it puts pressure on these governments to raise their pay. The bottom line is taxpayers are paying more and more. Tampa is paying these high wages while the mayor is crying that the City is broke and that the City needs to raise its property rates, increased fees for water, sewage, stormwater and garbage.

We took a look at Code Enforcement. We started there because Code Enforcement, while not a job that spreads joy, doesn't require a degree, professional license or physical abilities. For many governments, a high school or vocational school diploma and a year of experience or training is required. Tampa has 43 employees in Code Enforcement with 24 of them making over $80,000. Ten of those make over $90,000 and seven of those make over $100,000. The lowest paid person, a Certified Code Enforcement Officer, receives $59,550.40.

Their highest paid person in the same category makes $84,676.80. In the same category, nine make over $70,000 and another nine make between $60,000 and $70,000. Not bad for driving around Monday through Friday looking for grass that is too long or paint that is peeling and writing a citation.
Hillsborough County's pay range for Code Enforcement officers is $40,726.40 to $72,862.40. The range for Code Enforcement supervisor is $50,668.80 to $93,662.40. Compare the top pay for supervisor in the County to Tampa’s three Senior Code Enforcement Officers making $91,499.20 each and Tampa’s five Code Enforcement neighborhood team leaders making $111,529.60 each, and the senior supervisor is making $121,992.

Temple Terrace pays its top Code Enforcement person $119,870.40. It has three Code Enforcement officers who range from $52,520 to $53,248. Plant City pays its top Code Enforcement person $71,614.40. It has four Code Enforcement inspectors being paid from $53,768 to $57,636.80. It has one Code Enforcement specialist making $37,918.40.

Tampa's top Code guy is Keith O'Connor, director of Neighborhood Enhancement. His other title is golf court chauffeur for Tampa’s last police chief. He makes a whopping $147,284.80.

Tampa’s code officers carry the word “certified” in their title. So how tough is it to become certified? The four-day course costs $550 to $750 and the test, which you can take immediately after the course costs $100 to $150. Tampa has got to get its spending under control and that starts by reducing its starting pay for some of these jobs and reducing its supervisory staff. We have 10 people in Code Enforcement supervising 33. That's ridiculous.

The City of Tampa Code Enforcement Department seems to be at war with two of its taxpayers. John and Patricia Moll, who live on Lynn Street in South Seminole Heights, have a lot of art in their yard, with some of it in the right of way. This is nothing new. It's been an art yard for years period.
In 2017, City Code Enforcement went after the Molls but backed off after the City lawyers said the pieces were art, and allowable expressions. The City isn't backing off now. It is fining the Molls for their art pieces on the right of way.

That's the area between the street and the electric pole. It is the area that residents are responsible for mowing and keeping clean. The Molls have lawyered up and are fighting to keep their art, so Code Enforcement has doubled down. They parked their bucket truck in front of the Moll's house on Monday and went up in the bucket to find more violations and photograph items in the Moll's yard that could not be seen from the street or sidewalk.

We told you how much Code Enforcement officers make.

On Monday, it looks like a three-to-four-man crew went out to the Moll's for an aerial documentation project. The City truck has neighborhood enhancement on the doors, so maybe it's used all the time to peak in citizens' backyards. We have heard from other citizens about the zealousness of Code Enforcement. Code Enforcement has a reputation of playing favorites with some and retaliating against others. We are no fan of $147,284.80 Keith O'Connor. Using a bucket truck to find code violations is just another example of a poorly run department.

This column originally appeared at La Gaceta, Tampa's tri-lingual, more than century-old newspaper.

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