By Jeremy Weldon

Longtime Code Enforcement Office inspector Andy Berryhill was promoted to department administrator last week following the retirement of Pam Comer at the end of June. Berryhill assumed his new role last week.

A native of Crowder and graduate of South Panola Schools, Berryhill started working for the City of Batesville in 1996 in the Water Department. He advanced from general work crew duties to meter reading and finally to Class D Operator after earning a water system operator license.

That job includes water sampling, adding of chlorine, and servicing the city’s wells and lift stations. He transferred to the Code Enforcement Office after eight years and has worked in the role of inspector and officer since 2004.

In 2009, Berryhill and John McCollum were sent by the City to law enforcement school to earn certifications that would allow the inspectors to assume an officer’s role, including the writing of citations.

Since then, Berryhill said, the office has written just a few citations while attempting to persuade property owners to bring sub standard parcels and structures to code. At Berryhill’s hiring, aldermen made it clear they expected him to begin issuing citations as needed and not wait for problem areas to be adjudicated for cleaning by the City – a somewhat lengthy process that includes a public hearing.

Instead, aldermen said, Berryhill should begin using state statutes and local ordinances to issue tickets with fines for non-compliance of building codes or property maintenance standards. Berryhill said this week his office will follow that directive, although he noted that regular inspections (building, electrical, occupancy changes for rentals, etc.) must also be maintained.

“Right now John and I are handling them. He has really taken on a larger load because of the paperwork I have now, but he is also the City’s flood plain manager and I know he’s busy working on new maps for that also,” Berryhill said.

“The most important thing to me is the safety and welfare of the citizens of Batesville and our office is the enforcement agency in charge of occupant safety. That’s residential and business buildings we have to make sure are safe,” he said.

Aldermen have been presented a proposal for purchasing new computer software for the Code Enforcement Office, and Berryhill said if he receives final approval citizens will soon have more access to local codes and a way to report problem areas and complaints online.

For now, he said anyone with questions about codes, or those wishing to report problems parcels in a neighborhood should contact the office at 563-6621.