(A)
It shall be the duty of the County Board of Health and all County Health Officers to enforce this chapter.
(1) The County Health Officer is authorized to perform inspections in the furtherance of fulfilling his or her duty to enforce this chapter.
(2) Any person violating any provision of this chapter shall be subject to fines or other injunctive action as specified in this chapter.
(B) Upon receiving a complaint that asserts the existence of unlawful conditions that violate any part of this chapter, a County Health Officer shall:
(1) Investigate the allegation and verify to the greatest extent possible that a violation of this chapter has occurred.
(2) Upon confirmation that a violation confirmed, the County Health Officer shall complete a written notice of violation that shall include:
(a) State the nature of the violation;
(b) Issue an order that the violation be abated;
(c) Indicate a method for abatement and provide directions for the same; and
(d) Name the shortest reasonable time for abatement, and include what time period (15-30 days) believed to be reasonable that the abatement be completed.
(e) Abatement of a violation must be accomplished in an environmentally safe and lawful manner by disposal of solid waste in an approved and properly permitted landfill.
(C) If the violation is not satisfactorily abated within the specified time allowed, a second notice of violation shall be served, in the same manner as specified for initial notices and containing the same information specified for initial notices.
(D) If the violation is still not abated after this period of time, the matter should then immediately be referred to the County Attorney for appropriate legal action.
(E) The County Attorney shall take immediate action to accomplish the abatement by filing an enforcement action in court and requesting the court schedule a hearing as soon as possible.
(F) The County Attorney may request, and the court may order any of the following:
(1) Issuing an injunction;
(2) Entering a judgment;
(3) Issuing an order and conditions under I.C. 16-41-9;
(4) Ordering the suspension or revocation of a license;
(5) Ordering an inspection;
(6) Ordering that a property be vacated;
(7) Ordering that a structure be demolished;
(8) Imposing a penalty not to exceed an amount set forth in I.C. 36-l-3-8(a)(10);
(9) Imposing court costs and fees under I.C. 33-37-4-2 and I.C. 33-37-5;
(10) Ordering the respondent to take appropriate action in a specified time to comply with the order of the local board of health or local health officer;
(11) Ordering a local board of health or local health officer to take appropriate action to enforce an ord er within a specified time; or
(12) The County Attorney shall further ensure that the violator permanently eradicates the violation and shall ask the court to order that it remain free of any such violation and that the court may authorize remediation acts be authorized to act immediately.
(G) Miscellaneous enforcement and collection matters.
(1) The County Attorney in which a local board of health or local health officer has jurisdiction shall represent the local health board and local health officer in the action unless the county executive, local board of health, or health and hospital corporation employs other legal counsel, or the matter has been referred through law enforcement authorities to the prosecuting attorney.
(2) Cumulative remedy. This chapter supplements and does not limit any other remedy or action available in law or equity regarding the subject matter hereof.
(3) Failure to pay. If the owner fails to timely pay an invoice for abatement costs issued pursuant to this chapter, the Code Enforcement Official, or his or her designee, shall certify to the Morgan County Auditor the amount of the invoice for abatement costs, plus any additional administrative costs incurred in the certification of the same. The Morgan County Auditor shall place the total amount so certified on the tax duplicate for the property at issue, and the total amount, including any accrued interest, shall be collected as delinquent taxes are and shall be disbursed to the General Fund of the county.
(4) Abatement vendors. The Commissioners may invite and accept no less than two reasonable bids for abatement vendors who shall be private businesses and not any department of the county. Said vendors shall provide abatement services as independent contractors for violations of this chapter including the abatement of weeds and rank vegetation, garbage and junk, and the bids may be renewed and updated at various times when deemed appropriate by the Commissioners.
(5) Funds collected. Any and all abatement costs, penalties, and fines collected as a result of violations of and pursuant to this chapter shall be deposited into the General Fund of the county. The Commissioners and County Council may, in their discretion and as circumstances may warrant, disburse these funds to the General Fund of the Planning and Zoning Department.
(6) Statutory lien. In addition to the collection procedures described above, the expenses incurred by the county in order to abate a public nuisance constitute a lien that attaches to the property when notice of the lien is recorded in the Office of the County Recorder. The lien is superior to all other liens except liens for taxes, in an amount that does not exceed: (a) $10,000 for real property that contains one or more occupied or unoccupied single or double family dwellings or the appurtenances or additions to those dwellings or is unimproved; or (b) $20,000 for all other property.
(Ord. 4-3-1.1, passed 9-20-1993; Ord. 2021-12, passed 11-1-2021)
Penalty, see § 51.99