Jim Thorpe Borough Council laid the groundwork last week for further discussions on the municipality’s code enforcement strategy, with a focus on transitioning from a reactive to a proactive approach.

Borough Manager Maureen Sterner said Councilman Connor Rodgers expressed an interest in moving toward a more proactive system of looking for code violations instead of only reacting to resident complaints.

“Budget time is coming up and if council is going to move to a proactive approach, it’s going to mean more time and hours for code enforcement so we’ll need to plan for that,” Sterner said.

Some council members voiced concerns about how such a change would be implemented.

“If we would move completely to something like that, we need to discuss what kind of parameters (are needed),” Council President Greg Strubinger said, raising questions about staffing levels and resources.

Councilman Mike Yeastedt, who has favored a proactive approach in the past, said selective code enforcement can lead to problems down the road.

He cited an example where a property owner poured pavement without following borough specifications for curbs.

“It happens, and then down the road it becomes a problem ... because we didn’t enforce the (rules) in the beginning, it bites us in the long run,” Yeastedt said.

Another concern raised was how proactive enforcement could impact residents making home improvements.

“We don’t want to get to the point where it becomes a deterrent for people trying to do home improvement projects,” Strubinger said.

Yeastedt agreed but acknowledged, “regulations are in place for a reason and we need to follow them.”

Council also considered the fairness of enforcement. Sterner said if code officers are going to be proactive, they should not be selective about which violations to address.

“You can’t be dictating how they do it... The ordinances are the ordinances. If you want them to be proactive and go out and enforce the ordinances, you have to let them do it,” she said.