Editorial: Code enforcement pays off

THE ISSUE:

Communities pay the price when they have insufficient code enforcement.

THE STAKES:

While it may be costly, an aggressive, well-trained operation is warranted.

The ongoing battle against urban blight is a costly one for communities, but recent events in the City of Schenectady show it can be far less expensive than failing to wage a well-funded fight.

The latest evidence comes from an outside engineer's report finding the city was aware of water main leaks that caused a Jan. 28 mudslide that slammed into an apartment at 223 Nott Terrace and sent one man to the hospital. One leak, at a private home on Daggett Street, was discovered by city workers in mid-December. Another, at a Barney Street property, was discovered two days prior to the hillside collapse. Yet no attempts to repair the leaks were made.

Nobody died in the January mudslide, but according to a notice of claim filed by a resident whose house was hit by tons of mud, he still suffers from post-traumatic stress after being buried up to his torso inside his home.

The incident — traumatic to the residents and costly to the city, which had the expensive task of shoring up the hillside — follows a 2015 tragedy in which a fire in an apartment building killed four people, further underscoring the high price of neglect.

A city codes officer had inspected the Jay Street building the day before without noticing the fire alarm system wasn't working. The official, Kenneth Tyree, was acquitted of manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide after his lawyer argued Mr. Tyree was not properly trained. A recent grand jury report found that monumental disorganization and lack of oversight of inspectors "directly contributed to the deaths" in the Jay Street fire.

A civil court will determine the question of liability in these two events, but one lesson is already clear: Communities must have aggressive code enforcement to identify problems early, and mechanisms that include local courts to compel property owners to take quick action. In matters of public safety, like those in Schenectady, municipalities must be prepared to step in and address the problems promptly. They can argue about who's financially responsible, or sue, when the danger is past.

Albeit a formidable challenge, especially in cities where decades of neglect by absentee landowners have left some entire neighborhoods dilapidated, the battle is winnable. We're seeing this in the city of Saratoga Springs, which recently launched a crackdown to find and register the owners of so-called zombie properties, with the goal of enforcing building codes on these dangerous structures.

That will take a significantly greater investment of resources. The Times Union's Lauren Stanforth recently tracked what Capital Region communities spend on code enforcement efforts only to find code enforcement offices are beset with low-paid workers, inspectors who face conflicts of interest, and weak state oversight of training and certification.

With the many expenses municipalities face, it's easy to put off spending on stepped-up code enforcement. But one just has to look at the mounting costs in Schenectady to see it's an investment that can save far more — in dollars and, most importantly, lives.