After four months without a Deputy Code Enforcement Officer, the governing body approved Peter Picarelli to temporarily fill the position on a part-time basis. The position was temporarily filled for 10 days in July by former Code Enforcement Officer Carl Pluchino. This was after Elaine Broyles, who was hired in February, resigned three months later in May.
Citing complaints from residents about properties throughout the Borough, council voted to have someone to address complaints regarding property maintenance and possible violations.
Under Section 2-30.8 of the Borough Code Book, the Deputy Code Enforcement Officer has the authority to, among other things, issue summonses or notices of violation for:
- Failure to obtain the requisite permits before initiating construction and/or alterations;
- Failure to receive a Certificate of Occupancy before occupying the property;
- Changing the use or converting the occupancy of any structure, in violation of the Land Use Ordinance;
- Overcrowding of dwelling units,;
- Failure to adhere to the Borough’s sanitation and litter ordinances; and
- Inspecting structures and issuing certificates for smoke detectors and carbon monoxide.
Thanking council, Mayor Carl Hokanson said, “We tried a couple different avenues, [they] didn’t work. To the people calling me up complaining about the grasses and the couches in the back yard and house that the gutters are falling down, I thank you for your patience. We will be getting them up and running on the 12th. I thank council for doing this.”
Peter Picarelli, a Sergeant in the Roselle Park Police Department who retired in July of this year, will be hired at $22/hour (the same rate as approved for Mr. Pluchino) not to exceed a 25 hour workweek. With a maximum budget of $6,600, the temporary position is for 12 weeks, and will run till January 4, 2016. This will give council enough time to interview and hire a permanent Deputy Code Enforcement Officer at the beginning of next year.
“It’s nice to see that we have a retired police officer that knows some of the laws. Construction’s something different but he knows the town, he knows the people,” stated Mayor Hokanson on the hiring.
When reached for comment, Mr. Picarelli remarked, “I would like to thank Mayor Hokanson and the Council for the opportunity to be serving the town again and looking forward to getting to work.”
The resolution was unanimous passed by council with the start date being Columbus Day, October 12th.