One of Kent’s top strategic priorities is sustaining great neighborhoods in our community. A lot of our focus over the last couple of years has been jobs, jobs, jobs — which makes sense in this tough economy — but at the end of the day we still subscribe to the idea that we work to live, not live to work, so having a great place to live is vital to our quality of life and the City has to a role to play in that.
Actually we play a lot of different roles in protecting, preserving and creating great neighborhoods but one of the most direct is our City Code Enforcement Program. Just like the laws that govern behavior, Code Enforcement is that social contract that we agree to when we choose to live in our community. We, as dutiful citizens, have voted in regulations that reflect our values and expectations for how we want life to be in our neighborhoods, e.g., trash in containers, yards mowed, respectful noise levels, safe houses, etc. And the City’s Code Enforcement Officer is responsible for holding us all accountable to our own community standards.
Here’s a snapshot for how we did in 2009:
