Borough updates codes

MAT-SU -- The Mat-Su Borough Assembly agreed unanimously last week to appropriate an initial $60,000 to kick off its decennial evaluation of borough ordinances.

"Every 10 years or so, the code needs to be recodified or reworded," Borough Clerk Sandra Dillon told the assembly last Tuesday. "… It's a 10-year rewrite. Ordinances get adopted, things change and there are consistency issues -- things like that."

The process, Dillon said, will likely take two to three years to complete, and when all is said and done, it may cost more than the $60,000 originally appropriated, but it's tough to tell this early on.

Reviewing a municipality's code can be a tedious process that generally involves an enormous amount of checking and cross-checking data.

"We look at the entire code and then ensure that everything is consistent," Dillon said.

Ten years of new ordinances, changes to state statutes and numerous other factors, Dillon said, can significantly handicap an up-to-date code book. But reviewing the codes is an involved process -- and one that will involve a lot of in-house work.

"It takes about two years, because you can't just hire a contractor to come in -- it takes staff as well," Dillon said. "You have to have someone who works with the code on a day-to-day basis so they understand the intricacies and nuances of it."

Dillon said the process requires a lot of time from the legal and clerk's office, as well as contributions from every borough department as they are affected by the particular statute being reviewed.

Each change, Dillon said, will have to come back to the assembly for approval, but she's still evaluating whether to bring the changes back for approval as they come up, or whether to wait and have the assembly look at the entire document.

"Ultimately, the end product will go to the assembly," Dillon said.

With it, she said, will be an explanatory document that will explain in detail why each change is suggested.

"The purpose isn't to substantially change everything," Dillon said. "It's just to make sure we're consistent."

As the process progresses, Dillon said information will be available.