Some departmental restructuring could be in the works at Southold Town Hall.
On Friday, Southold Town Supervisor Scott Russell said the town board is considering having the code enforcement officer report directly to the town attorney’s office.
Currently, code enforcement operates under the building department’s jurisdiction.
“My position has been that it should be a free standing office with a director and staff,” Russell said. “However, the board can restructure as it sees fit.”
According to Russell, Councilman James Dinizio has been exploring the option. “Jim will have to make a compelling case to me why this would make administrative sense before I support it,” Russell said.
Dinizio said the town board has authorized him to investigate moving the town code enforcer from the building department to reporting directly to the town attorney’s office.
“The thought is that code enforcement almost always involves violations of the code that require legal advice to remedy,” Dinizio said. “I am at the beginning of the process of evaluating the logistics of such a move and anticipate that I will be reporting back with my progress at the next town board work session.”
The move would be lateral, with no financial impact to the town, he said.
