The Pine Bluff City Council voted unanimously Monday night to detach the Quality of Life Division from the Police Department and also approved a measure allowing the mayor to declare an emergency for the purposes of letting businesses operate from temporary locations.
The ordinance regarding quality of life calls for code enforcement officers to “enforce provisions of the technical codes adopted by the City Council, or as otherwise required by law, and all other duties and responsibilities assigned to the department by ordinance.”
Officers will have the authority to write tickets for violating city code regarding nuisances and nuisance abatement.
Sponsored by Alderman Steven Mays, the proposal will rename the division as the Code Enforcement Department.
“It’s time to separate them,” Mays said during a meeting of the City Council’s Administration Committee last week. “It’s time to take code enforcement up a notch.”
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Before the ordinance that will now allow the mayor to declare an emergency passed Monday, the president of the United States and the governor of Arkansas were the only people allowed to make such a declaration. The ordinance allows the temporary placement of mobile offices in the city to assist residents in filing insurance claims and associated claims. The issue came up after the recent hailstorm, which damaged hundreds of homes and cars. Some insurance companies have set up tents in order to help expedite claims.
In related business, the council also passed a resolution ratifying a contract with Harold Hall Roofing, Inc. for inspections and repairs to city facilities damaged in the hailstorm.
In other business, a majority of council members voted to approve a budget adjustment of $170,000 for the Pine Bluff Convention Center’s operating expenses. The funding will come from the Delta Celebration Series Expense that was allocated in the Go Forward Pine Bluff tax funds.
During the meeting, council members decided to postpone making a decision on an ordinance to increase the uniform clothing allowance for Pine Bluff police and fire departments until funding is made available by those agencies or until the 2019 budget has been reviewed.
The ordinance asked that the uniform clothing allowance be increased from $600 to $800 for each public safety officer.
Alderman Bill Brumett said that if the police and fire departments can find funding, the ordinance can be placed on a future agenda. He said that a total of $48,000 needs to be allocated for the uniforms— $28,000 for the Police Department and $20,000 for the Fire Department.
An ordinance establishing a sick leave bank for non-uniformed employees and related purposes was unanimously approved by the council. The ordinance states that a non-uniformed employee is an employee who is not a firefighter or sworn police officer, and who, by virtue of his or her employment, is automatically eligible to participate in the bank.
The ordinance also lists the qualifications for a non-uniformed employee to be eligible to apply for the sick leave bank.
In other business, a resolution to designate a portion of Gross Street in memory of Marshall Frazier Jr. was passed. It was proposed that a topper be placed on top of the street signs located where Gross Street intersects with Hepburn Street and where it intersects with 13th Avenue.
Alderman Glen Brown Jr. said that he is against the resolution because “the city would have to pay for and maintain the sign if something happens to it.”
He said that the signs would have to be specially ordered because the street department does not make those signs, which means there would be an additional cost to the taxpayers.
Pine Bluff Mayor Shirley Washington also expressed her concerns about the pricing of the toppers and the pricing of the upkeep and maintenance of the signs. She said that each topper would cost approximately $175, not including the maintenance and upkeep. She said that installing the topper would cause problems in the long run.
“We can’t do for one citizen what we can’t do for all,” Washington said.
Alderman Lockett said that he didn’t think that it would be a major cost to the city to provide the signs in memory of Frazier and the work he has done in his community over the past 20 or 30 years.
“He showed that you don’t have to have a degree or be in a special position to be a leader,” Lockett said.
An ordinance amending chapter 16 of the City Code of the City of Pine Bluff, Arkansas, to augment the city’s provisions concerning certain nuisance properties and for related purposes was approved in a 6-1 majority vote during the meeting.
Alderwoman Thelma Walker voted against the ordinance because she didn’t see a reason for there to be a rush for the ordinance to be passed, saying she felt that it needed further consideration and clarity.
Washington explained that there are many burned buildings that need to be removed from the environment and contractors are ready to begin working on the removal of those buildings. She said that if they waited any longer, it may take up to six weeks to reach a decision.
A resolution authorizing accepting a grant from the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism and committing matching funds of $155,000 as part of grants funds agreement passed with a unanimous vote from council members.
Each member was added to the list as a sponsor of the new park located near the Lake Saracen Splash Park on Pullen Street.
In other news, the council members voted unanimously to pass a resolution amending resolution number 3571 to remove a property declared to be a nuisance.