PARKER — Council members approved a cleanup ordinance Tuesday which will allow the city to charge costs associated with cleanup to a property owner’s tax bill.
A previous ordinance gave the city authority to “clean and lien” nuisance properties reported to code enforcement, but the city had no way to retrieve tax dollars spent abating the complaint in a timely manner. The amendment passed Tuesday allows the city to assess fees to property taxes and reclaim that money at tax time.
The council made several revisions before approving the amendment.
Instead of leaving code enforcement officials in charge of deciding to correct imminent threats to public health, council members opted to allow a 24-hour period to be rectified prior to the matter coming before themselves.
Councilman Michael Miller was concerned the city could clear a nuisance then bill a property owner without notification.
“If you do it without notice, you’re taking away that option to correct it,” Miller said.
The council also:
• Changed language to allow unkempt grass, weeds or brush to reach a height of one foot before being deemed a nuisance.
• Extended a moratorium on front yard structures for 45 days following the Jan. 13 end of the previous.
• Set aside money for capital items and an operational reserve account. Parker Police Department will be getting about $40,000 for a new police vehicle — the first since 2009, according to Chief Charles Sweatt. A combined $125,000 was allocated for servers, computers and utility billing and accounting software for city hall functions. And $100,000 was set aside to be placed in a operational reserve account.
• Accepted impact fees of $67,000 for engineering costs of the Community Development Block Grant.