Kalispell City Council rejects code enforcement program over budget concerns

Kalispell city councilors appeared unwilling on Monday to hire a code enforcement officer despite warning the municipality lacks the resources to effectively enforce its code.  

Councilors during the March 24 work session were reluctant to inflate the city’s budget by hiring dedicated personnel to address municipal code violations. Some councilors wanted to see data on the frequency and type of municipal code complaints received before bringing on a full-time employee. 

City Manager Doug Russell said that while Kalispell does enforce its municipal code, “we just don’t do it effectively or efficiently because we don’t have dedicated resources.”  

The responsibility to keep property owners in compliance with municipal code is spread across several city departments, where enforcing code is not their main priority. 

For instance, the Development Services Department, which is responsible for city planning and community development, must also enforce ordinances on tall weeds and grass as well as debris and junk on private property. 

During the summer, Assistant Development Services Director PJ Sorensen said the city would receive around 60 calls a month complaining about tall grass on properties. 

When the city receives a complaint about a property, it will inspect the property. If a violation is found, the property owner will be notified. They have a certain amount of time to fall into compliance before the city abates the violation. 

Because city staff are tied up in other duties, Russell said that code compliance is often not followed up on. Properties may fall into compliance temporarily but fall out again the next week, Russell said. 

A dedicated officer would take on the responsibilities handled by the Development Services Department and enforce code on boulevard maintenance, sidewalk maintenance, right-of-way encroachments, landscaping and sidewalk snow removal.  

Russell estimated that a full-time code enforcement would cost about $75,000. If Council wanted to hire one, he suggested either budgeting for it in the city’s general fund or putting a special assessment district before voters. 

But many councilors were reluctant to raise taxes.   

“We have been nickeling and diming the public for a while,” Councilor Sid Daoud said.  

Councilor Kari Gabriel agreed that a levy would be unfavorable but acknowledged that code enforcement is an issue that needs addressing.  

“If there’s no teeth to the ordinance, what’s the point of having it? It’s a joke,” she said.  

Gabriel proposed tabling the discussion for a year and tracking the frequency and type of complaints the city receives. 

A dedicated enforcement officer would also result in more calls, according to Russell. Once people know that the city is being responsive to complaints, they will make more, he said.  

“It’s kind of understood that there's not a lot of enforcement of city codes across the community,” he said.  

KALISPELL IS the only large city in Montana without dedicated code enforcement personnel. Billings has seven, Missoula has six, and Butte and Helena have two each.  

Daoud saw the city’s lack of code enforcement staff as a sign of freedom from encroaching government. He called the other cities’ hiring of code enforcement personnel “huge, wasteful government spending.”  

Resident Jamie Quinn argued during public comment that Kalispell should follow suit with other cities.  

“It’s pretty obvious if every other city in this state has code enforcement and every other civilized community basically in this country has code enforcement, that maybe it’s something that we should really address,” she said. 

Mayor Mark Johnson was opposed to a code enforcement program, arguing that neighbors solving disputes with each other is more effective than involving a code enforcement officer.  

“It does a lot better than heavy-handed government,” Councilor Jed Fisher added.  

Councilors did show interest in amending two municipal ordinances that the city receives the majority of complaints about. One dictates grass height and the other relates to junk vehicles on private property.  The amendments would streamline the abatement process.  

WHILE TALK of onboarding a code enforcement officer has come up over the years, the recent discussion was spurred by the former Outlaw Inn property, which fell into disrepair after being bought by Oregon-based real estate enterprise Fortify Holdings in 2022.  

The developer intended to create multi-family apartments, but the property instead turned into a hotspot for vandalism and vagrants, posing a safety risk to neighbors and nearby businesses.  

In January, Columbia Falls developer Mick Ruis bought the deed of trust and promissory note on the property and secured it with fencing. That same month, Council amended the city’s fire code allowing the city to abate vacant properties.  

City Attorney Johnna Preble said on Monday that if there were proper city codes in place to address the property, the city could have taken Fortify Holdings to court for abatement of the property and potentially had a lien placed on it.   

Reporter Jack Underhill can be reached at 758-4407 and junderhill@dailyinterlake.com.