MONROE — City homeowners may find something on their door in the weeks ahead as the city is in the midst of a code enforcement push to ensure properties in town are compliant with codes approved in 2015.

Those codes regulate everything from peeling paint to structural integrity issues.

“I’m very excited to say that we’ve made significant progress,” City Administrator David Lothspeich told the common council at its Monday night meeting. 

So far, since the effort began in recent months, he said more than 139 properties have been “brought in to compliance” with the code enforcement efforts. The goal, officials said, is not to drag Monroe homeowners into court or levy big fines. Rather, it’s to force compliance to ensure the city’s structures look their best and are safe.

After the 2015 building code was approved — and the subsequent resignation of the Monroe building inspector in 2021 — the city looked to Lakeside Consultants to help with enforcement and zoning. The job though, was massive, and so the city later recruited Jeff Neises, a local contractor, to oversee the inspection and compliance process, which has been streamlined to make it easier for homeowners to understand.

As a longtime resident, Neises brought a unique perspective to the job, officials said. He was not only described as knowledgeable of building structures but also sensitive to the public — a key trait they say to working on what can be contentious issues over the condition of properties.

“Everyone had a sense driving through the city that we had a problem,” said Lothspeich, of the code enforcement situation in prior years. “Jeff has a very strong sense of community and he’s empathetic.”

In the most recent push, the city has sent over 230 violation notices; and about 139 of those have been fixed, he said.  Eventually the goal is to inspect more than 500 properties across Monroe.

Toward that end, the city is planning additional “code sweeps” in the weeks and months ahead, but homeowners will now be notified before their property is inspected. Then, if Neises identifies a problem in the sweeps, homeowners will receive another notice advising them of the issue and giving them a period of time to correct it, depending on the issue.

And if a homeowner can’t afford an expensive fix, such as a roof or other project, Neises and city officials will work with them to find a way to bring the property into compliance. Officials also acknowledged that, at this time, building materials are extremely expensive and some repair businesses overwhelmed by demand in part because they can’t recruit enough skilled workers. 

Very few cases, officials said, will ever result in an actual citation issued, a court appearance or a fine levied. 

They say they are trying to avoid the process from being confrontational and the perception that any one homeowner is being singled out, which is why they will eventually look at all properties in town. The process also tries to identify owners who do not live in the area to advise them of the code enforcement issue with their properties; and the fact that the city has code enforcement.

“A lot of people don’t even know we have a code,” said Lothspeich.

Officials said the coal is simply an improved city, and not anger among its homeowners.

“It’s exciting to see you are using a lot of common sense,” said Ald. Donna Douglas. “People shouldn’t be offended.”