- April 23, 2026
Ormond Beach will begin searching for a new code enforcement supervisor to bolster its Neighborhood Improvement Division.
During a workshop on Tuesday, April 21, City Commissioners agreed to move forward with adding the position. Later this year, the commission will also discuss a new administrative assistant position, to be included in next fiscal year's budget. This will help the department catch up to its current workload and begin succession planning for its long-term staff. It could also create opportunities to take a proactive approach to code enforcement.
"When I first got elected, I sent out a mailer," City Commissioner Travis Sargent said. "It was a questionnaire and the number one issue on it was code enforcement."
Sargent said he mailed the questionnaire to every voter in Zone 2, which he represents. He estimates 85% of the people who answered wanted stronger code enforcement.
Based on previous direction by the City Commission, city staff partnered with Willdan Engineering to perform a needs assessment of the city's NID.
The top six code enforcement issues in Ormond Beach are site maintenance, RV parking, cars parked in the front yard, lack of building permits, tree issues and inoperable vehicles, said Doug Leeper, of Willdan Engineering, at the workshop. Site maintenance — such as overgrown vegetation and weeds — and RV parking account for 50% of the reported code violations in the city over the last eight years.
NID is currently staffed by six employees: a department manager, an office manager and four inspectors.
"This is tough," Sargent said. "At a time when we're talking about cutting budgets and doing things, and we're adding positions."
Sargent asked whether one of the city's public information officers could fulfill the duties of the NID administrative assistant.
City Manager Joyce Shanahan said no.
"Everybody has a full-time job now, and it all depends on your priorities," she said. "This was one of the issues that you all brought forward to us, asked us to find solutions. We're preparing to give you possible solutions."
Additionally, the city's NID staff is working "beyond its capacity," said City Finance Director Kelly McGuire. Even if the commission had not given staff direction to look into code enforcement, McGuire said staff likely would have come to them during the upcoming budget process to address the staffing issue. The existing NID staff has been with the city for a long time, but it is a smaller staff than it had 15 years ago.
"If you're telling me there's a problem now, let's just fix it," Commissioner Kristin Deaton said.
The two positions may not be enough to get the city to take a fully proactive approach to code enforcement, Leeper said, but it will add more capacity to make it a possibility.
Mayor Jason Leslie said the commission will need to make a choice on how they want code enforcement to operate.
"We can't go with a proactive approach running on a skeleton crew," Leslie said.
Commissioners and city staff also discussed the use of AI tools and addressing current policies and programs to maximize efficiency, as well as implementing a re-inspection fee.
Sargent was wary of implementing a new fee in hopes it would fund the new positions. He'd rather the city concentrate on monitoring vacant lots that are regularly occupied by transients.
"I would like to see more of a proactive approach on those properties than fining our residents," he said.
