SAN ANTONIO – KSAT 12 viewers who send emails to NastyNeighbor@ksat.com often say the same thing about the code violation in their neighborhood: "the city isn't doing anything about it."
There are reasons neighborhood messes aren't resolved as quickly as neighbors might like.
First, code enforcement officers have a certain number of days in which to investigate a complaint based on the severity of the issue.
The department divides violations into Tier 1 and Tier 2 categories.
"The Tier 1's, the high weeds, junk vehicles, trash and debris on the property, they have 2 days to get out there to investigate," said Rod Sanchez, Director of Development Services, the department that oversees Code Enforcement.
Also included in the Tier 1 category are issues like plants blocking road signs or a raw sewage leak, issues that Sanchez says have to do with "life safety."
"Often times we'll just get someone out there to maintain that- to take care of it for them- and we'll charge the homeowner for whatever it cost us to make those repairs," he said.
Code Enforcement officers have 6 days to respond to more minor Tier 2 violations, such as doing work without a permit.
Residents can make a code complaint by dialing 311 from phones with 210 area codes. Those calls are routed to the city's call center, where call takers input the information into a city database.
"We take all of that information, we put it into our system and that system communicates with the work order management system that code uses to go out and manage their case load," said Paula Stallcup, assistant director of City Communications and Public Affairs.
Callers who don't have a 210 area code can contact 311 by dialing 210-207-6000. Code violation reports and city service requests can also be made online or via the city's mobile app.
Once the call takers input the information into an online database, that information is sent to code enforcement officers who inspect the reported area within the allowed time period.
If a notice of violation is given, the property owner has 10 days to resolve the issue.
But not all owners comply.
"We have to give people proper notice- those 10 days- then we have to schedule it before a hearing officer or we've got to schedule it before a board," said Sanchez. "That takes some time. That could take 2 weeks, it could take 30 days."
Sanchez says 90 percent of all code violations will be resolved within 45 days from the time code officers investigate the complaint.
The 311 call center accepts calls Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Satrurday and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.