After a decade without a code enforcement officer, Lyon County now has one
Submitted by Jeff Munson on Thu, 08/09/2018 - 10:51am
Having been without a code enforcement officer for more than a decade, Lyon County now has one after the Board of Commissioners identified the need and made room in its fiscal year budget for the position.
The county has hired David Scott to serve in the capacity of Code Enforcement Officer, said Lyon County Manager Jeff Page, noting it has been more than 10 years since the county had the position, which had been administered through the District Attorney’s Office with a single purpose of enforcing Lyon County nuisance codes.
The new code enforcement program will work within the county's Community Development Department and will enforce nuisances as well as business license code violations, planning and zoning code violations and public health code violations, said Page.
The Board of County Commissioners have been asked consider a proposed ordinance amending the duties of the position for enforcement allowing for fines and fee scheduling, administrative hearings, judicial review and fine and fee collections.
Page explained that other counties have similar ordinances and that He and the district attorney have discussed the successes of such an ordinance with Churchill County officials. The ordinance does not prohibit a criminal prosecution nor does it address any specific code or ordinance.
The proposed language provides the Code Enforcement Officer with authority to enforce all County Codes unless there is a specific provision for enforcement by another county official, ie. Sheriff, building official, etc.
The Board will also be asked to pass a resolution designating the Code Enforcement Officer as having authority to issue misdemeanor citations for violations of Lyon County Code. This action is required by Nevada Revised Statutes and is the process that was followed to designate Animal Services and Fire Protection Districts the authority to issue misdemeanor citations under certain circumstances.
Page explained that the program goal is to gain compliance with code violations. Enforcement actions may be necessary but the ultimate goal is to fix a problem. Code Enforcement will become more proactive in the near future. Currently the County is catching up on current investigations.
To file a complaint or to get code enforcement assistance the public can call (775) 463-6531/577-5037 or email codeenforcement@lyon-county.org forms and information about code enforcement can be found here.
