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Sarasota News Leader March 22, 2013 Page 86 Siesta Seen The letter adds, ���Our community needs consistency in oversight, responsiveness and enforcement. Without Code Enforcement Staff availability, there isn���t a reliable means to develop compliance to [the] ordinance.��� Noise issues on the key were the primary focus of the March 7 SKA meeting. The organization���s board of directors had invited Assistant County Zoning Administrator Donna Thompson; Kevin Burns, the Code Enforcement officer who handles the overtime work for the county; and other county staff members to that meeting. The ensuing discussion ��� which included representatives from the Sarasota County Sheriff���s Office ��� lasted close to 75 minutes. THE 2012 LETTER In an Aug. 14, 2012 letter to the County Commission, the SKA board urged that an evaluation of staffing patterns in the Code Enforcement Office be undertaken before the commissioners made any decision about overtime or hiring new personnel. Luckner also made it clear to me that she and Vice President Peter van Roekens did not want their actions or the SKA board���s actions as a whole to be taken as a sign of opposition to Village businesses. ���We do want the county to enforce the ordinances as they exist,��� she pointed out in mid-August 2012. ingness to hire extra Code Enforcement personnel. County staff had figured the cost of a new employee for the office, with full benefits, would be $70,029 a year. In early July 2012, Reid notified the commissioners the estimated cost of one part-time position would be $55,155 per year if the person worked 30 hours a week; the cost would decline to $38,355 if the person worked 20 hours a week. Those figures included equipment and uniforms, he pointed out. Finally, the County Commission agreed to include $21,060 in the 2013 fiscal year budget for a Code Enforcement officer to work up to 15 hours per week. Commissioner Patterson, who lives on Siesta Key, made the motion for the budget adjustment. ���I think it���s a reasonable compromise,��� Patterson said at the time. ���It���s like speeding, where every once in a while you have to rattle someone���s cage to let people know you really do want some cooperation,��� she added. During the Feb. 7 SKA meeting, van Roekens told the audience, ���In terms of code enforcement, there simply is not enough staffing ������ He added that the island���s long-time Code Enforcement officer, John Lally, had been out on medical leave, ���and we don���t know what his status will be.��� Moreover, van Roekens said, it is important During a June 13, 2012 budget workshop, the for the county to have Code Enforcement County Commission did not indicate a will- staff on weekends and evenings, ���not as some-