Kriseman want to expand number of inspectors in 2015

As part of his mayoral campaign, Rick Kriseman promised to help clean up St. Petersburg.

The city's Codes Compliance Assistance Department is a big part of that. Its workers  keep tabs on everything from improper signage to yard maintenance to reporting abandoned housing so it can be secured. Their work became especially difficult during Bill Foster's mayoral tenure because the recession left more homes vacant and some owners indifferent about the condition of their properties.

A big hit to the department occurred in 2007, when then Mayor Rick Baker reduced staff by roughly 25 percent, eliminating eight of 30 code inspectors, as well as two technicians and two supervisors.

The department's remaining 22 compliance officers are currently handling about 7,000 code violations cases across the city.

Kriseman plans to add three more officers to the ranks in his fiscal year 2015 budget proposal, said city spokesman Ben Kirby. If approved, it would be the first expansion since Baker's cuts seven years ago.

Kriseman is slated to give his budget to the City Council by July 1. The council must pass a budget by Sept. 18, ahead of the fiscal year beginning in October.

Kriseman plans to add positions and funding to the codes department, but because it's only a proposal for now, we rate this promise In The Works.