Town hires new code enforcement officer

After nine years in the Army and two months as a code enforcement officer in Plano, Texas, Chris Elbon is now reporting for duty as the town’s new code enforcement officer.

“There have been a lot of things I can transfer over from my military experience into code enforcement,” said Elbon, who began the job in September. “But so far, most of the calls I respond to are for high grass and weeds.”

Elbon’s military career included five years as a military police officer, two years as a unit security manager and two years as a counter intelligence special agent. Elbon also did yearlong tours in Iraq in 2006 and South Korea in 2012 as well.

Longboat Key Police Chief Pete Cumming said Elbon stood out from the beginning as someone with the right temperament and experience for the job.

“His background was a standout and we were impressed with the way he conducted himself throughout the interviews,” he said. “Hiring him was not a struggle.”

Hired at a starting salary of $50,460.80, Elbon took over the position most recently held by Jeff Karr, who resigned over the summer after four months on the job.

A code enforcement officer has no arrest powers. The position was recently restructured so that the code enforcement officer reports to the Police Department instead of the Planning, Zoning and Building Department because it makes more sense communication-wise.

“When he is out in the field he will have a police radio,” Cumming said. “But we are in the process of establishing a code enforcement contact specifically for him that should be coming together here within the next couple of months.”

The town’s code enforcement officer is responsible for enforcing town ordinances and the state’s contractor license laws and seeks to obtain compliance if a violation exists. If compliance is not achieved, the code enforcement officer brings the case before the Code Enforcement Board for a hearing.

Bio
Chris Elbon
Position: Code enforcement officer
Age: 28
Family: Married with two children