Eureka Springs is a small town with a well-entrenched political machine. Any qualified code enforcer who takes a job here is playing Russian roulette with their career. Sooner or later, you will have to say “you can’t” to a politically well-connected citizen. Your fate is thus sealed. That’s especially true where past code enforcement has long been sporadic, enforced by unqualified people, or nonexistent.
“Using discretion” with timelines for compliance can and should be an appropriate solution for difficult problems. It does not mean “ignore the code forever.” There are means of appeal for those aggrieved by a decision.
Every code allows for a code enforcement officer to enter any commercial occupancy with or without notice at any reasonable hour. [Building Inspector] Mr. Coburn was wrong in not contacting a proprietor upon arriving at the occupancy. Was this his first infraction or 10th? Is a “progressive discipline” policy in place for city employees? Was it followed? Was he provided with periodic performance reports? Or was he fired because he did his job too well? We can never know.
Mr. Coburn’s firing might have been justified. Or not. Under “strong mayor” government we, the people who paid Mr. Coburn’s salary, cannot determine that for ourselves. Nor can city council. We (and our visitors) depend on a competent code officer for our lives, safety, and welfare. Officials wrap themselves in the cloak of “confidentiality,” “at-will employment” or “the Arkansas City Codes” to avoid accountability for their actions. The circumstances of Mr. Coburn’s dismissal raise the question of political motives. If I were Mr. Coburn, I’d be talking to an attorney.
Rita Wessel
Eureka Springs