[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village of Carthage 8-5-1991 as Section 3 of L.L. No. 2-1991. Amendments noted where applicable.]
Except as otherwise stated in specific Code chapters, all chapters of the Village of Carthage Code shall be enforced in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.
The Village Board of the Village of Carthage hereby designates its duly appointed Code Enforcement Officer and/or any law enforcement officer as an authorized individual to enforce all sections of the Code of the Village of Carthage.
A. 
Upon any written or oral complaint by any person to any officer of the Village of Carthage of any violation of any section of the Code of the Village of Carthage, a written complaint shall be delivered to the Code Enforcement Officer of the Village of Carthage or any other law enforcement officers for investigation. The Code Enforcement Officer or other law enforcement office assigned with the responsibility to investigate shall promptly investigate said complaint and render a written report of whether or not the complaint is founded.
B. 
If a complaint is determined to be founded, the Code Enforcement Officer, or the designated law enforcement officer, shall take one of the following measures:
(1) 
He or she may seek voluntary compliance from the person in violation. Where voluntary compliance is sought, the Code Enforcement Officer or designated law enforcement official shall monitor such compliance to ascertain that compliance is obtained within a reasonable period of time not to exceed 30 days;
(2) 
He or she may serve a written notice of violation on the property owner, occupant or alleged violator, which written notice shall indicate the nature of the violation, the code section violated, the action needed to remedy the violation and the time in which such action must be taken, not to exceed 30 days. Such notice shall further indicate that upon the failure to comply with a requirement of the notice and correct the violation, other enforcement action will be taken; or
(3) 
In the event of serious violations or violations which are of an emergency nature and require immediate action, the Code Enforcement Officer may take one or more of the steps listed in Subsection C below.
C. 
Upon the failure of the property owner to voluntarily remedy the violation pursuant to Subsection B(1) and (2) above, the Code Enforcement Officer or law enforcement officer shall be authorized to:
(1) 
Issue an appearance ticket and supporting deposition requiring the alleged violator to appear on a designated date in the Village Court of the Village of Carthage to answer charges related to the alleged violation of the Code of the Village of Carthage;
(2) 
Refer the matter to the Village Board of the Village of Carthage to authorize the Village Attorney to bring legal action in New York State Supreme Court for an injunction against the alleged violator; or
(3) 
Refer the matter to the Village Board for consideration of whether or not the Village Board should authorize and direct that corrective action be taken by Village employees or agents. Before such action can be undertaken, the Village Board must make a finding, after a hearing on notice to the property owner or alleged violator, that the condition on the property is such as to require immediate intervention by the Village. Except in emergency situations, such hearings shall be on a minimum of five days' written notice to the property owner or alleged violator. If, following the hearing, the Village Board finds sufficient evidence to exist that the public health, safety and welfare of the residents of the Village of Carthage will be detrimentally affected unless immediate action is taken, then the Village Board may authorize Village employees or may hire someone to perform the necessary corrective work.
Any person found to be in violation of any section of the Code of the Village of Carthage, unless otherwise stated in specific chapters of this Code, shall be subject to the following fines, penalties and assessments:
A. 
Any person found guilty of a violation of any section of this Code shall be found guilty of an offense, which shall be punishable by a fine not to exceed $250 and/or 15 days in jail. Each week of continued violation shall be considered a separate offense for which separate fines and jail terms can be imposed by the court in the court's discretion.
B. 
In the event that the Village Board of the Village of Carthage determines it is necessary that the Village perform corrective work on the alleged violator's property, all costs and expenses associated with such work shall be considered a special assessment against the property and may be charged to the landowner on the next succeeding tax bill of the Village of Carthage.
C. 
In addition to all fines and penalties set forth above, any person found to be in violation of any chapter of the Code of the Village of Carthage shall be required to reimburse the Village of Carthage for all costs and expenses incurred by the Village of Carthage, including but not limited to inspection fees, engineer's fees, consultant's fees, attorney's fees, court costs and expenses. Such costs and expenses shall be considered a special assessment against the property and may be added to the next tax bill of the property owner.