07-24-03 Fill Dirt Review Committee minutes

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mem Practices Committee" to travel cities to implement job descriptions, poli- cies, staffing and services for the building inspection depanment. (SM) Objecriv~: Encourage Board of Directors and Committee participc.rion. Suategy: [ssue press releases to home city newspapers. CPR) Strategy: Give annual recognition gift to Board members and Committee Chair- persons. (A \VI) Strategy: Hold a special dinner at Mid- year meeting for Board members and Committee Chairpersons. (A W) Strategy: Mail list of committees to 1~~ Building Inspection Departments Should Protect Identities of Citizens Reporting Code Violations According to seve~1 opinions writ- ten by the AuorneyGeneral of the State of Texas, municipalities have a respon- sibility and obligation to protect the identities of outside complainants who have orovided information concerning possibie city ordinance violations. The Texas Open Records Act determines what information in the possession of a city is to be made available to the public. The Attorney General has interpreted the Open Records Act to require that inquiring citizens be provided with in- formation concerning the general nature of any complaint ag3inst them. The names, addresses, and telephone num- beu~owever, of the individual inform- ants "are not subject to disclosure. _ [n Open Records Decision Number 279, the Attorney General interpreted the Texas Open Records Act, Article 6252-17a, v.T.es., Sections 3(a)(1), 3(a)(8), and 3(a)(11) in response to a request received by a city department to provide the identity of a person who reported a zoning ordinance violation. Violators of the ordinance were guilty of . criminal offenses - specifically. Class C . misdemeanors. The Attorney General determined that the identity of a person who reports a zoning ordinance viola- tion to a city is excepted from public members requesting participation. (PR) TSignea. Strategy: Develop Board of Directors AW=Awards and Scholarship and Committee Travel Policy. (EG) BG=Budget BP=Building Professional Institute Plan of Action - Committee BY=Bylaws Assignments C~.:-Code ~eview From this, new Association commiuees ED-Edu~atl~n and Program were created and each strategy was as- tG=:.tgl5lauve. signed to one of the current committees. L lB-=._ (em~ers~lp I 'II b h 'b-l- f h NM-Nommatmg t Wl e t e responsl llty 0 eac com- p^ _p 'd 'Ad- . . . h d .,",-- resl em s VlSOry mlttee to mvesugate eac. strategy to e- PD-P ~ . 1 D I termine a plan of action. ~ ro :sslona _ eve opment Following is a list of committees and PR:~ublLc Relat~ns . their abbreviation. Beside each strategy SM-",ound Management Practices + listed above is the abbreviation for the committee to whom the strategy is as- disclosure as information deemed conn- dential by the informer's privilege. In Open Records Decision Number 355, the Attorney General again con- cluded that cities .may withhold the names, addresses and other information that identifies the complainant in ques- tion based on Open RecordS Decision Number 279. Although the informer's priVilege usuallvarises in the context of a criminal investigation, the Attorney General has held in these opinions that it does apply more comprehensively. The Auorney General has stated that administrative officials who have a duty of inspection also have a duty to safeguard the in- former's privilege. Building Inspection Departments clearly faU within this administrative inclusion. Departments should be care- ful. therefore. to protect the identities of any citizen who provides any informa- tion to the department relative to pos- sible code violations. Effective Inspection Programs Could Lower Property Insurance Rates The insurance industry' is currently studying a system to evaluate code en- forcement activity as a factor in deter- mining property insurance rates. Under the proposed program, communities with better code enforcement programs would be el igible for lower property insurance premiums. Conversely, resi- dents and business in communities that have not adopted a model code or that do not effectively enforce a code could pay higher premiums. A preliminary draft of a Code En- forcement Grading System Checklist has been developed by a subcommittee of the National Committee on Property Insurance, a group created by property insurance companies to explore meth- ods, such as code enforcement, for re- ducing property losses related to natural hazards. The proposed schedule includes five major sections: background data, ad- ministration of codes, plan review, in- spection and enforcement. and existing buildings. Each section has a series of questions concerning the types of codes ~dopted. whether codes are current, t.vhether there are code amendments hat might reduce a model code's effec- iveness, and how well the plan review Imd field inspection programs are carried out. The qualifications of code enforce- ment personnel would be considered by a check for professional credentials or certifications from states or model code organizations, and the number of per- sonnel would be compared to the work- load to determine if the inspection needs are being met. Upon completion. the new checklist will be made available for use by insurers as a method for evaluating risk and establishing rates. + BULLETIN 9