Wheatland council put money in its 2003 budget for a code enforcement officer.

Wednesday, council appointed someone to the position.

While Edd Buczo has been called a code enforcement officer and has acknowledged doing the duties of the position -- without pay -- Councilman Donald Stinedurf said Buczo really is the building permit officer and the borough technically has not had a code officer.

Buczo will be paid $330 a month for investigation of code complaints and possible prosecution of offenders. He will give council monthly reports of his activities.

Buczo's wife, Nita, who is a council member, abstained, and Councilman Richard Campman voted no.

Campman said he's been complaining about code violations for four years and nothing has been done about them.

"He's the code officer," Campman said. "If he wants the job he has to do it."

"We took care of a lot of cars last year," Buczo responded. "We took care of a lot of garages last year."

Campman said he has gotten lots of excuses for not enforcing the code.

"Because I'm not paid," Buczo said. "That's what I'm asking for now."

Councilwoman Lorraine Jones said council needs to come up with a job description, although Buczo said he knows what the job entails.

Buczo will respond to complaints and issue a verbal warning if he sees a violation, Ms. Jones said. If the problem is not remedied, he will write a letter. As a last resort, he will issue a citation.

Those steps are outlined in the Building and Code Administration guidelines, which council has adopted, along with times lines, Ms. Jones said.

Council also set a committee of Council President David Cusick, Stinedurf and Ms. Jones to review the borough's building permit fee and code fines.

"None of them have been looked at for eons," Ms. Jones said.

The committee wants to raise the fees to a level that will pay for the officer's salary.