City leaders defended code compliance staff after hearing complaints about six-figure fines caused by inspection delays.
“The suggestion that the city has acted improperly, has (dragged) its feet or slowed the process: not with respect to the Bordeauxs,” City Attorney Sidney Calloway said at the end of Tuesday’s City Commission meeting.
Two weeks ago, CBS News Miami Investigates shared the complaints of Kenneth Bordeaux, 82, and his wife, Mildred, 80. They own a duplex that the couple rents. The income pays their bills and is also an asset they hope to pass to their family.
However, the property faces $366,000 in liens from five violations, according to city records. Those violations included a broken window handle and a cracked electrical plate cover.
The couple fixed the violations; however, it took more than 220 days for inspectors to verify those cures. The couple blamed code inspectors for the delays.
“It’s an absolute misrepresentation of the factual record,” Calloway said during the meeting.
The couple’s nearly 450-page case file with the city’s code compliance office has 20 violations that did not meet “minimum standards” for a dwelling, Calloway said. He said there is no evidence that staff caused delays and blamed the Bordeauxs for their months-long wait to meet compliance.
Calloway also insisted the fines are justified and have nothing to do with a line in the city’s adopted budget that projected a 161% increase in lien and fine collection while directing staff “…to seek strategies to reduce expenses and/or create new revenue opportunities.”
The Bordeauxs insist they fixed violations as quickly as they could and insist staff delays left them with a lien they cannot afford. Now, the couple is in a situation they struggle to believe.
“It’s going to put us both in a box,” Kenneth Bordeaux said.
One of the city’s biggest taxpayers, Levy Realty Advisors, faces $740,000 worth of liens. Two weeks ago, their owners told CBS News Miami Investigates that staff delays caused fines to rise.
The company’s representatives, though, left Tuesday’s meeting optimistic for two reasons. First, the city commissioners approved a deal to use OpenGov software to improve the efficiency of departments, including code compliance.
Also, the city attorney invited Levy Realty Advisors and the Bordeauxs to meet with him about reducing how much they owe.
Levy representatives plan to meet with the city attorney this week.
