City Code Enforcement Moves To City Hall

“We’re not law enforcement,” says Jake Hollis, one of the City of Dalton’s two new code enforcement officials. “We’re not there to arrest people or put them in handcuffs, our job is simply to say, ‘hey, this is in violation, it needs to be corrected and it’s a civil situation, it’s not a criminal situation between you and the city.’”

That’s the City of Dalton’s new approach to municipal code enforcement: taking the code enforcement function out of the Dalton Police Department and putting it into civilian hands at City Hall. The City of Dalton is still serious about improving the “curb appeal” of our community through better enforcement of the municipal code – everything from maintaining yards and other measures to keep Dalton beautiful to ordinances that govern building safety – they’re just changing who is assigned to the job.

At right: Alan Parrish (left) and Jake Hollis (right) are the City of Dalton's new code enforcement officials

Alan Parrish and Jake Hollis are now in charge of the city’s code enforcement efforts. Both men bring extensive experience with law enforcement or code enforcement to the job – Parrish retired last year as a building inspector in Peachtree Corners, Georgia after beginning his career in inspections with Dalton and Hollis retired in 2019 as a deputy with the Catoosa County Sheriff’s Office after beginning his career as a Dalton Police Department officer.

“I want it done right,” said Parrish of the city’s new code enforcement office which is being established under City Hall’s administration department. “You can’t have selective enforcement… Mayor Pennington wants it done right, everybody treated the same, so that’s my enthusiasm to come back and let’s see if we can get it done right and clean the city up.”

“I wanted something that was outside of law enforcement… but I wanted something where I could still serve the public and still help people be safe,” Hollis said of returning to Dalton to work in code enforcement. “When this position came open and the chance to be in it from the ground up, trying to build this department and build it to be something different with a proactive approach where we have voluntary compliance versus just going out and writing tickets… for me it was a natural way to transition from law enforcement and trying to help people and say, ‘hey let’s be kind to each other, let’s be kind to our neighbors and try to get that voluntary compliance.’”

“When people see the police coming, they see a police officer and they think they’re in trouble. They think they’re going to jail,” said Parrish. “We’re not the police. We don’t carry guns. We have to be more proactive in letting them know that we’re there to help them, we’re there to educate them on what needs to be done to revitalize their property.”

Code enforcement is about making the city look good, yes, but it’s also about making the city a safer place. Many of the rules that appear to be just about appearances – such as ordinances stating grass must be mowed to a certain height – also have safety applications.

“If somebody allows a property to grow up, you can have snake infestations, you can have rodent infestations, and things that can create problems for the neighbors,” Hollis said.

The new code enforcement officials are already out on the streets working, and they have a wide variety of issues on their plate. One area of focus is enforcing the city’s sign ordinance – temporary signs aren’t allowed on city rights of way and they’re not allowed anywhere in the Walnut Avenue Gateway Corridor. Rundown buildings are another area of early focus.

“Dilapidated buildings that have gone for some period of time for whatever reason – maybe the owners don’t live in the city, they don’t see it all the time - there are buildings that literally aren’t safe for people to live in,” Hollis said.  

Parrish and Hollis are also both working to address concerns from Dalton residents. If you have a code enforcement concern there are several ways to contact the code enforcement office for complaints or to alert them to issues facing your neighborhood. One is to use the See Click Fix function on the city’s website or the See Click Fix app. Another is to call City Hall at 706-278-9500 and ask for code enforcement. You can also email Alan Parrish or Jake Hollis directly.

Both men encourage residents to call if they have an issue in their neighborhood.

“When I was in law enforcement we often run into a situation where neighbors don’t want to call on neighbors because they have to live next to them, and so we don’t want to make our neighbors mad,” Hollis said.  “People need to understand that it may not be their neighbors who are calling with code enforcement complaints, it can simply be somebody that’s driving by. It could be either me or Alan that are coming out just because we saw the issue driving by.”