#1. "RE: Ocala is looking for volunteer CE workers" In response to Reply # 0
Living in neighboring county, I know a few folks in Ocala. I'll pass the information along to them.
That number is for the city of Ocala Building Department, as opposed to Marion County Code Enforcement, so I suppose their jurisdiction is only within city limits. Since the city commission has said anyone is free to remove signs in right-of-ways, the only additional benefit to this that I could see would be assisting in pursuing fines for those who have posted illegal signs.
Keep us posted with whatever information you can obtain.
#2. "RE: see the following article which is due out in this A.M.'s newspaper" In response to Reply # 1
CHRIS CURRY STAR-BANNER
OCALA -- City officials are looking for some extra eyes to help city staff identify code violations.
Thursday morning, the city held a one-hour informational session for employees and interested residents who may pitch in time to help Ocala's three code enforcement inspectors. The city's sanitation workers, police officers, community policing volunteers and public works staff will start to identify potential violations.
Residents interested in more extensive training required to join the volunteer program should call 629-8309.
In the future, the city wants to introduce online complaint forms for residents and also allow the progress of code cases to be tracked over the city's Web site.
#3. "RE: see the following article which is due out in this A.M.'s newspaper" In response to Reply # 2
Anyone not satisfied with just removing signs that are often quickly replaced should contact local CE's in general to get an idea of how to work with them. I can already spot and report violations by phone, in person, and even electronically in my county, but I don't know what the their process is like, nor often the outcome other than the slow removal of signs that I could have done myself at my leisure without them.
What I don't have here is progress of code cases tracked over a Web site. It's a useful metric for job performance if the public (and accountable officials) can see how many cases only a few CE's have handled. If they are over-worked, it's more obvious by the data. More workers or law enforcement participation might help.
I'll send some bodies to the training session when it takes place, then post their noteworthy comments here regarding sign issues. Thanks for mentioning the news story.
