Marshall County Building Commissioner Chuck DeWitt presented an ordinance to the commissioners Monday morning that reorganizes the Unsafe Building Board, and enacts fines and penalties for lack of compliance.
DeWitt said the make up of the board will be a nine-person membership with representatives from Argos, Bourbon, Bremen, Culver, Plymouth, and Lapaz, along with one member to be appointed by the Marshall County Commissioners, one member appointed by the Marshall County Council, and a social services advocate appointed by the Marshall County Commissioners.
DeWitt added that the ordinance discusses emergency order and a procedure for the enforcement of violations. A homeowner will receive a notice of violation with a timeframe of compliance. If a violation is not corrected within the time specified, DeWitt said a notice of fines for violation will be mailed via certified mail.
“We are proposing for violations that there’s a first offense of $50 per day, second offense of $100 per day and third offense $200 per day,” stated DeWitt.
A person may appeal the violation which is outlined in the proposed ordinance.
A public hearing on the ordinance gathered no comments from anyone in attendance.
Commission President Kevin Overmyer suggested having just the board members determine if fines should be levied or not and not the Building Commissioner to protect the Building Commissioner. Taking a step further, the board could have a measure in place that DeWitt call the board president to notify that person of the situation and determine potential fines. The commissioners approved that as an amendment and approved the ordinance with that change on first reading with a unanimous vote.
