Keep Collinsville Clean - Blow Grass Clippings back into your property.

Responsibilities

The Code Enforcement Division was established to promote and enforce compliance with the City of Collinsville's Code enforcement, most commonly related to property maintenance standards and zoning enforcement. Code Enforcement maintains and enhances the quality of existing development within the city. This ensures that Collinsville is a place all residents, business owners, and visitors can look to with pride. The Code Enforcement Division's role is to provide pro-active enforcement and investigate concerns regarding:

• Property maintenance, which includes building and general maintenance of property.
• Enforces illegal and nonconforming sign issues
• Zoning issues
• Conducts investigations and inspections of concerns and maintains case files of those concerns.
• Conducts regular pro-active Code Enforcement patrols of the City.
• Mosquito Control Program
• Appears before the municipal hearing officer or county court on code enforcement cases.

Main Objectives

The Code Enforcement Division's main objectives are to:

• Protect property owners’ investments.
• Promote public health, safety and welfare.
• Enhance the quality of life in the City’s neighborhoods.
• Educate property owners and business owners.
• Perform community outreach.

Report a Violation

If you believe there is a Code violation in need of attention, please use the online Violation Reporting System or call Community Development at 618-346-5200 x 4.

The Enforcement Process

1. The City receives a complaint via the web, telephone, email, walk-up, etc.
2. Complaint is logged, prioritized, and routed for response to the appropriate enforcement division of the City; and, when applicable, a receipt acknowledgement communication is sent.
3. A City Inspector makes a visual inspection of the site to assess the complaint.
4. Upon verification of there being a violation, the Inspector will send a letter to the responsible party. The letter provides the legally-required amount of time to remedy the situation and/or a court date is scheduled. Re-inspections take place as appropriate.
5. If the responsible party appears at court, they have the opportunity to negotiate with the court - sometimes being granted additional time to address the problem.
6. If the responsible party does not appear at court, the case is continued - typically for 30 days. If the responsible party does not appear at the continued date, a fine is typically imposed and notice is sent. This process can continue for several months until, depending on the violation, additional legal measures are taken by the Court to address the problem.

Resolution of Code Violations through the legal system can take time, and this may lead people to believe that the City is not addressing the issue. However, the City works to ensure that all complaints are legally addressed and that due process is given to all citizens. Due to the variation in time for violations to be resolved, City staff will not typically follow up with the person who submitted the complaint; however, a response will be given to anyone inquiring about the status of a complaint.

City Court

Most Code Compliance cases are heard in the City of Collinsville’s “City Court”, which is presided over by a Hearing Officer. Although not a Judge, decisions made by the Hearing Officer are legally binding and may result in an order to comply, monetary fines and/or community service. City Court is held every other Thursday at 4 pm in City Hall. More serious violations, or those that are repeat violators, will be cited in County Court, which is presided over by a County Judge. For Court appearance questions please call Code Enforcement Officer Sheri Verstraete by email or at 618-346-5200 x1158. 

Other Programs

Community Service Program. As an alternative to fine, both the City’s Hearing Officer and the County Court are authorized to require community service. The administration of such community service is managed by the Code Enforcement Officer who works with not for profits, churches, schools, the food pantry, etc. to find available community service hours for those who are penalized through the court system.

Interior Inspections Program. The City of Collinsville has adopted the 2015 International Property Maintenance Code (IPMC), which intended to help provide for a safe home environment, free from dangerous living conditions or malfunctioning appliances, etc. If a Collinsville resident feels that a dangerous or unsafe condition exists within his/her rental unit, the Code Inspector can be contacted to inspect the structure for compliance with the IPMC. The landlord will be contacted to make repairs or changes that are required in order to meet the code. For questions regarding the Interior Inspections Program, please contact the Department at 618-346-5200 x4. 

Contact

Sheri Verstraete - Code Enforcement Officer
Phone: 618-346-5200 x1158      Email: 

Chris Wagner- Property Maintenance and Housing Inspector
Phone: 618-346-5200 x 1126     Email: 

Dan Nicklin - Building Inspector
Phone: 618-346-5200 x 1159     Email: 

John Aiple - Property Maintenance and Building Inspector
Phone 618-346-5200 x 1139     Email: