At Coalinga City Council meeting, February 6, the council voted to move forward with obtaining a contract with a code enforcement company who maintains an office in nearby Fresno.
Willdan is involved with many cities across the United States. Their enforcement officers are fully certified. The initial plan is for Willdan to hire and manage an enforcement officer who will work two eight hour days in Coalinga, coming from Fresno each time.
The preliminary proposal for Coalinga is a cost of $63 per hour which translates to roughly $52,000 per year.
Several residents spoke out against the plan, suggesting that this much money could be better spent in several different ways. Two speakers suggested that hiring a resident of Coalinga to work part time would be more cost efficient while also supplying at least part time employment to a resident.
Mayor Pro Tem Ron Ramsey expressed concerns about using a Coalinga resident to function as a code enforcement officer, explaining that code enforcers are generally hated, and they would have problems treating everyone equally.
Two council members, Adam Adkisson and Mayor Ron Lander, cautioned that this action might not be the most effective and efficient plan. Ultimately, the council voted 3-2 in favor of the plan which calls for the coming to an agreement on a one year contract. At the end of that time, the plan would be reviewed. The contract will not take place until July when the city’s fiscal year begins.
Willdan has this description of its company and services:
Willdan is a leading, nationwide provider of value-added professional
technical and consulting services.
Willdan has over 40 offices across 20+ states – including key offices in
CA, AZ, NV, UT, TX, FL, and NY. We have worked with nearly 90% of
California’s cities and counties to deliver 13,000+ projects, and have
served over 3,400 clients nationwide.
Our team of certified plans examiners, inspectors, code enforcement
officers, professional engineers, and architects can support every stage
of a project – from permitting to plan review and inspection
