(A) Position created. There is hereby created the position of Code Enforcement Officer, who shall be appointed by the Town Council of the Town of Atlanta and who shall receive such compensation as from time-to-time is established.
(B) Duties. The Code Enforcement Officer shall have the authority to enforce the various articles, provisions, and chapters of the Atlanta Municipal Code. This shall include, but is not limited to, the Inoperable Vehicle Ordinance and the Nuisance Ordinances.
(C) Violation of code. Under the direction and supervision of the Town Council, the Code Enforcement Officer shall takes steps to cause the correction of any violations of any town ordinance or code under the Code Enforcement Officer's jurisdiction. These steps include site inspection, warnings, a written direction to correct the matter, filing ordinance violation charges, or filing, with the assistance of the Town Attorney, other court actions to enforce said ordinances.
(D) Inspections. For purposes of making inspections, the Code Enforcement Officer, Town Council President, members of the Town Council and other duly authorized town representatives shall have the right to enter upon any property at reasonable times to make inspections of such property to determine whether or not town ordinance violations exist thereon.
(E) Limitations.
(1) The Code Enforcement Officer shall not be considered a police officer for the Town of Atlanta or a law enforcement officer as defined under I.C. 5-2. As such, the Code Enforcement Officer shall not have the power or authority to conduct criminal investigations, enforce criminal statutes, or to make arrests on behalf of the Town of Atlanta. This authority shall rest solely and exclusively with the Hamilton County Sheriff's Department.
(2) In the event a law enforcement officer, as defined under I.C. 5-2, from another jurisdiction is appointed to serve as the Code Enforcement Officer, that individual shall act on behalf of the Town of Atlanta solely and exclusively in the capacity of a Code Enforcement Officer as defined herein. Town property, vehicles, and equipment may only be utilized for code enforcement purposes on behalf of the Town of Atlanta. The Code Enforcement Officer shall not at any time act as a law enforcement officer per I.C. 5-2 for the Town of Atlanta.
(3) In the event the individual's duties as a law enforcement officer under I.C. 5-2 require the individual to take actions outside or beyond the scope of the powers, purview, or duties of the Code Enforcement Officer as defined herein, the individual may only do so as a law enforcement officer of the jurisdiction that granted said individual with law enforcement officer status under I.C. 5-2. Any such actions shall be deemed as having been undertaken on behalf of said other jurisdiction utilizing solely and exclusively the authority granted to the individual by said other jurisdiction.
(F) Any person, firm or corporation violating any provision of Atlanta's Zoning Ordinance, the Inoperable Vehicle Ordinance, and the Nuisance Ordinances shall be fined as set forth under the applicable ordinance for each offense committed on each day during, or on which, a violation occurs or continues.
(Ord. 4-2014-1, passed 4-8-2014)