The office of Code Enforcement Officer is hereby created.
[Adopted 3-24-2003 by L.L. No. 1-2003 as § 243 of the 2003 Code; amended in its entirety 4-16-2007 by L.L. No. 2-2007]
The Code Enforcement Officer shall administer and enforce all the provisions of the Uniform Code, the Energy Code and this Municipal Code, and in addition, the Code Enforcement Officer shall have the following powers and duties:
A.
Applications. To receive, review, and approve or disapprove applications for building permits, certificates of occupancy, temporary certificates and operating permits, and the plans, specifications and construction documents submitted with such applications.
B.
Permits and certificates. Upon approval of such applications, to issue building permits, certificates of occupancy, temporary certificates and operating permits, and to include in building permits, certificates of occupancy, temporary certificates and operating permits such terms and conditions as the Code Enforcement Officer may determine to be appropriate.
C.
Inspections. To conduct construction inspections, inspections to be made prior to the issuance of certificates of occupancy, temporary certificates and operating permits, firesafety and property maintenance inspections, inspections incidental to the investigation of complaints, and all other inspections required or permitted under any provision of this Municipal Code.
D.
Stop-work orders. To issue stop-work orders.
E.
Complaints. To review and investigate complaints.
G.
Records. To maintain records.
H.
Collection of fees. To collect fees as set by the Village Board of this Village.
I.
Administrative enforcement. To pursue administrative enforcement actions and proceedings.
J.
Legal actions. In consultation with this Village's Attorney, to pursue such legal actions and proceedings as may be necessary to enforce the Uniform Code, the Energy Code and this Municipal Code or to abate or correct conditions not in compliance with the Uniform Code, the Energy Code or this Municipal Code.
K.
Testing. Wherever there are reasonable grounds to believe that any materials, equipment or work does not comply with all laws, code enforcement personnel may require testing to prove compliance. When necessary or appropriate, code enforcement personnel may require field tests by competent and authoritative persons or agencies; the cost of such testing shall be paid by the property owner.
L.
Other powers and duties. To exercise all other powers and fulfill all other duties conferred upon the Code Enforcement Officer by this Municipal Code.
The Code Enforcement Officer shall be appointed by Board of Trustees. The Code Enforcement Officer shall possess background experience related to building construction or fire prevention and shall, within the time prescribed by law, obtain such basic training, in-service training, advanced in-service training and other training as the State of New York shall require for code enforcement personnel, and the Code Enforcement Officer shall obtain certification from the State Fire Administrator pursuant to the Executive Law and the regulations promulgated thereunder.
In the event that the Code Enforcement Officer is unable to serve as such for any reason, an individual shall be appointed by the Board of Trustees to serve as Acting Code Enforcement Officer. The Acting Code Enforcement Officer shall, during the term of his or her appointment, exercise all powers and fulfill all duties conferred upon the Code Enforcement Officer by this Municipal Code.
One or more inspectors may be appointed by the Village Board to act under the supervision and direction of the Code Enforcement Officer and to assist the Code Enforcement Officer in the exercise of the powers and fulfillment of the duties conferred upon the Code Enforcement Officer by this article. Each inspector shall, within the time prescribed by law, obtain such basic training, in-service training, advanced in-service training and other training as the State of New York shall require for code enforcement personnel, and each inspector shall obtain certification from the State Fire Administrator pursuant to the Executive Law and the regulations promulgated thereunder.
The compensation for the Code Enforcement Officer and inspectors shall be fixed from time to time by the Board of Trustees of this Village.
The Code Enforcement Officer shall keep permanent records of all transactions and activities conducted by code enforcement personnel, including records of:
A.
All applications received, reviewed, approved and denied.
B.
All plans, specifications and construction documents approved.
C.
All building permits, certificates of occupancy, temporary certificates, stop-work orders and operating permits issued.
D.
All inspections and tests performed.
E.
All statements and reports issued.
F.
All complaints received.
G.
All investigations conducted.
H.
All other features and activities specified in or contemplated by this article or Chapter 152, Building Construction and Fire Prevention, of this Municipal Code.
I.
All fees charged and collected.
All records kept pursuant to § 67-25 shall be public records open for public inspection during normal business hours. All plans and records pertaining to buildings, structures or appurtenances thereto shall be retained as required by state and other applicable laws and regulation.
A.
To the Village Board. The Code Enforcement Officer shall submit an annual written report to the Village Board of all business conducted by code enforcement officials, including a report and summary of all appeals or litigation pending or concluded.
B.
To the Secretary of State. The Code Enforcement Officer shall submit annually to the Secretary of State, on behalf of the Village, a report of Village activities relative to administration and enforcement of the Uniform Code on a form prescribed by the Secretary of State.
C.
New York State Department of State (NYSDOS) requests. The Code Enforcement Officer shall, upon request of the New York State Department of State, provide excerpts, summaries, tabulations, statistics and other information and accounts of his activities in connection with administration and enforcement of the Uniform Code from the records and related materials this Village is required to maintain.
The Village shall defend and indemnify the Code Enforcement Officer and all inspectors, including building inspectors, housing inspectors and fire inspectors, against any judgment or liability for any official action taken or decision made under this Municipal Code or any other applicable laws.