More Code Enforcement concerns are expressed

It seems kike no matter the meeting, there are also concerns expressed about the borough's efforts in code enforcement. Monday night's borough council meeting was no exception.
Tim Swartz told members of the council he was talking with one of the borough's new code enforcement officers last Friday, who was answering a complaint. Swartz said the official told him, he was asked to "back off" on issuing citations because the staff in the office was low.
"We're only suppose to issue citations if we get phone calls," Swartz was told.
"This is very discouraging, We need to enforce these codes with zero tolerance. Why would this person tell me this?" Swartz asked.
"If we can't enforce our codes, having extra people doesn't mean a thing," Swartz said.
"If we are going to revitalize this town, this is not the way to do this and this is an issue that needs to be addressed," Swartz said.
Swartz also spoke of an apartment on Locust Street where 11 children and two adults were residing.
Mary Barninger, who served as acting council president for the meeting, was surprised to hear Swartz' information
"We need to immediately look into this," she said.
"This is ridiculous," said Borough Manager Norm Meiskey.
Mayor Leo Lutz said the borough has been working with the Columbia School District and others to get a handle on living problems. Lutz said 71 disruptive conduct reports have been written in the last year concerning tennant issues in Section 8 areas and four people have been taken off the Section 8 lists.
"We are cracking down on this," Lutz said.