An amount of $10,000 was budgeted for 2017 to be begin the Codification process of West Easton Ordinances. At January’s council meeting, Council authorized our Borough Solicitor, Steve Goudzousian to begin that process. He will provide updates to Council at future meetings on the progress of the codification and the expenditures from that outlay of funds.
In order to follow and enforce local ordinances, people must be able to efficiently access and reference them. Most municipalities in our area have already completed codification of their ordinances. They did it many years ago when it was less expensive.
Codification is the way municipalities make it easy for people to find and read the laws they are expected to follow. Codification is the process of organizing and recording all permanent ordinances adopted by the governing body into a code book in which the laws are arranged by subject matter. This book (the “municipal code”) gives each ordinance a permanent identifying number, and usually includes a table of contents and index, so people can easily look up the law on any particular topic.
A code that is well arranged, well edited, easy to read and up-to-date is a cost effective management tool for government. It eliminates many tasks that are a strain on staff members and enables citizens to have free, open and ready access to the law.
Once Codification is completed, West Easton’s ordinances can be placed online for access by the public. A search mechanism would be available that would instantly bring up all ordinances relating to the subject sought – whether it be chicken coops, swimming pools, home repair, or any other subject currently on the books, it can be located by anyone – from resident to non-resident.
Once online, changes in state law that might supersede local laws are immediately sent to the Borough.
Because we don’t have codification, our office staff has had to refer to books and binders that are kept in the documents room at Borough Hall when a question regarding an ordinance arises from the public, or from Council. The books dating back to when West Easton was incorporated in 1898 are still in their original handwritten form and some of those ordinances found within them are still in force, so please be sure to keep your outhouse door closed.
Disclaimer: On January 4, 2016, the owner of WestEastonPA.com began serving on the West Easton Council following an election. Postings and all content found on this website are the opinions of Matthew A. Dees and may not necessarily represent the opinion of the governing body for The Borough of West Easton.
