Auto Pilot! (part 2)

To continue the conversation concerning the rampant code violations in New Albany, here is a scenario for consideration.

Tom & Gerry peruse the inner core of our fair city and find a vacant lot to invest in. Following the purchase they acquire a building permit and proceed to build a modest home. All goes well, the finished structure is completed, the Building Commissioner’s office signs off on it, and they move in.

Then it gets funky. The following year they decide they need/want more living space so they purchase an adjacent lot and begin adding on to the original structure. Only this time they leave out a few pertinent details.

First of all the transfer of ownership for the second lot is never recorded with the County Recorder.

Secondly no building permits are pulled for the additional construction.

Thirdly, although the addition violates the set back from property line regulations, no Zoning Variance is applied for. At least not until after construction is complete.

So why does all of this matter and WHO really cares? As to the second part of the question apparently no one in officialdom.

As it concerns the WHY, we all should care for at least the following reasons.

Failure to record the deed means among other things it remains on the books as a vacant lot and is taxed as such. The result being not only a loss of revenue for the City/County, but a potentially troublesome transfer of ownership & tax liability for the next buyer.

Failure to obtain a building permit means that no inspections as to structural integrity, nor adherence to plumbing, electrical, & HVAC codes ever occurred. This also affects the tax roles as the forwarding of these permits from the Building Commissioner to the Tax Assessor is how that office is made aware of a structure's existence.

In this case, with the addition not being accessible from the original house, it means that it could be viewed as stand alone living quarters (i.e.; multifamily dwelling) by some future owner. All the while this particular house sits dead in the middle of a single family zone.

And the above example is just the tip of the iceberg. At a Building Commission meeting late last year it came to light that a group of homes (shacks) along our riverfront were put there by squatters decades ago on property they did not and still do not own!

That fact had never been recognized by officialdom as I understand it.

No, check that ... I don’t understand it!

It leads one to conclude that there really is no one paying attention.

The sad news is all of the above result in adding to an already strapped city’s ability to provide the services we all desire to have. They endanger the property values of all who surround them. And they set even further precedent to the all too pervasive trend of ignoring local ordinances.

The sadder news is that due to a lack of dollars, training, job descriptions & legal guidance either state or local, most of these positions are more politically filled than they are by knowledge of the job requirements or skills needed to perform them.

At the county level save for the County Clerk and Tax Assessor, the only statutory requirement for holding a particular office is that one be a resident of the county and be a registered voter in the county. One typical example is that you need not have any medical background to be the coroner.

The saddest news of all is that we the tax paying citizens are the only recognized defense against violators getting off without a hitch. When asked how they become aware of most violations I’ve had official after official at both city & county level say the information came from a member of the public bringing it to their attention.

So it comes to this. If the public is doing all the research & leg work, why are we paying for vehicles, gas, insurance and all else that go with it for city/county officials who apparently can’t see the forest for the trees?

Why is it that even though the various offices often share the same data base it takes someone walking in off the street to point out a discrepancy to various offices? Is there no intra system communication?

Or ultimately if the general public is doing the work or is satisfied with it going undone, why do we need these positions at all?

Must we privatize all public offices in order to get results?

All the more reason for advocating public involvement in the process for to many of us, it is apparent that those charged with doing the peoples business and protecting the public’s good…… Aren’t!!!!