Code Enforcement and the Balanced Scorecard

In an earlier post, I described the City's Balanced Scorecard. I'd like to focus on a particular measure to give you a little more detail how it works.

In our "Provide A Well-Maintained Community" strategy, we measure the number of code enforcement complaints received from citizens. For this measure, we record the number of citizen complaints concerning stored abandoned/junk vehicles, junk objects, debris open to view in yards and private driveways, and weeds/brush that do not meet code. These complaints are tracked with the hope of reducing them through public education efforts and agressive enforcement of City ordinances in an efficient and timely manner. Each month, our Code Enforcement Officer puts together a report including all violations he has tagged and residents have pointed out to us through phone calls, our Online Service Desk, or emails.

You can see that for the past two years, reports have shot up in May. Of the 49 complaints received in May 2007 (compared to just 9 in April 07) 33 related to weeds and brush. Although three of those complaints did not turn out to be an actual violation, the rest were handled either on the phone, in-person, by door hanger, or by a mail notice. It's not uncommon for complaints to rise as lawns and rural areas start growing that time of year.

This is just a portion of our code enforcement report. There were an additional 40 violations identifed by code enforcement officers and police referrals that month. Some involved zoning and junk vehicles or debris, but most targeted weeds and brush. Our target for this measure is around 10 vehicles a month (based on a 1993 baseline of 133 complaints a year--and that was just for junked/abandoned vehicles). The number of junk related complaints has decreased significantly since that focus on enforcement began, and we've begun to measure these other violations as a result. I believe this is why our Citizen Survey results for 2006 showed dramatic improvements in satisfaction with Code Enforcement. Residents reported 81% satisfaction levels with the enforcement of maintenance of residential properties compared to 69% in 2002.

This is a good example of process integration in our City. The Balanced Scorecard is a tool we use internally to measure our performance, and by tracking that we can determine focal points and areas for improvement. Our Citizen Survey, conducted every two years, then gives us a handle on the external resident perspective for those same services, letting us know if we are on the right track or need to regroup.