During last week's Code Enforcement meeting, the committee heard from several concerned citizens about various issues within the city.
Among those citizens was Mark Sierra of Sierra Group and Associates Construction. Sierra was there to rehash an issue concerning proper certification, workman's compensation and licensures for contractors within the city. Sierra has already discussed the issue with the committee once before and wished to reiterate some of his main points and look for solutions.
Sierra said that when someone is pulled over by police, they are asked to provide license and registration. It does not matter when the last time they were pulled over was, the documents are checked for validity every time it happens. Sierra believes that this method should be used by code enforcement for contractor's licensure.
Sierra asked head of Code Enforcement and Assistant Chief of Police Ricky Jefferson about the procedure for examining permits for contractors. Jefferson said that they could ask to see the documents but the system was enforced on the state level, not city level.
Sierra has stated that he is only trying to make the playing field level for all contractors in Blytheville and not trying to "shut out the little guy." He has stated that he simply wants all contractors to be registered and licensed properly for the sake of the employees working under them.
"People think that I'm trying to shut the little man down, I'm not. I'm trying to raise the standard. It's the law. It's simple. I'm not lobbying for a new law. I'm lobbying for an existing law to be enforced," Sierra said.
Jefferson stated that most of Sierra's questions and inquiries should go to Rick Ash, not Code Enforcement. Sierra asked who was over Ash and Jefferson stated that it was not him and was "probably the mayor."
"It's two different divisions, you've got Code Enforcement and we do the permits. We do them but through Rick Ash…our secretary writes the permits for Rick Ash," Jefferson said.
"So Rick has the ‘yay' or ‘naysay' power to give permits to whatever he wants…where are the checks and balances on that?" Sierra asked.
"You would have to go talk to the mayor on that one," Jefferson responded.
Sierra added that his six-year-old understand the concept of checks and balances. He questioned that if Ash interprets a code to mean a certain thing, is that the way the city enforces it?
"If I get pulled over by you and I say, ‘Here is my license that is all you need.' I'm good?" Sierra asked.
"You're talking about two different things. We don't govern Rick Ash... just like we don't govern Assistant Chief Jefferson; any complaints about him need to go to his superior," Councilman L.C. Hartsfield said.
Jefferson told the CN this week that permits and licensure are a state level enforced issue and that the city has been told that by state-level authorities multiple times.
"In essence to, they say it is not about shutting the little guy out but in the sense, everybody doesn't have $40,000 to pay for workman's comp," Jefferson said. "I know that it is the right thing to do but some people are just trying to make it."
Jefferson added that a lot of these unregistered contractors are people who have felony records that can't get a job in other fields of work, so they use construction work just to make enough to feed their families.
"Can't everybody afford that and can't everybody afford those higher prices. Sometimes if you've got a leak in your roof, you are going to hire the cheapest person you can get just to get by," Jefferson said.
Jefferson said that, in his opinion, Rick Ash does his job the way it is supposed to be done and that he follows the directions given to him by the state.
gwilliams@blythevillecourier.com