Coulee Dam to hire code enforcer

The town of Coulee Dam is going to hire a code enforcer.

The council gave its approval last Tuesday night, at least to try out the idea for the rest of this calendar year.

The council approved a plan by the mayor to hire a code enforcer for 25 hours a month at $22 an hour, but stopped short of making it a permanent position.

The town council took up the enforcement issue just prior to voting down a chicken ordinance that would have allowed residents to keep up to four hens.

The code enforcer issue came up during earlier chicken discussions, when it seemed everyone was on board to get someone other than the police to handle chicken and other nuisance complaints.

All kinds of complaint issues came up in the council discussions, including dogs, tall grass, and other things covered by town ordinances.

One resident asked about dogs and whether the code enforcer would be able to enforce issues with barking dogs but not dogs defecating in other people’s yards.

Councilmember Ken Miles asked if the town hiring a code enforcer would give the town “a hammer” to correct problems. Mayor Greg Wilder answered, “maybe a feather.”

He said some of the answers would have to come from the town’s attorney.

Miles had pressed on the question of whether the town could slap a lien on property. Wilder had responded that the attorney would advise.

Sgt. Larry Hall told the council that some of the town’s ordinances were created in the 1950’s and needed to be updated. He explained how difficult it was to enforce some of the town’s codes under the present wording of the ordinances.

Mayor Wilder was asked by the council to move forward on hiring a code enforcer and that the council would look at making the job permanent at budget time.