Mono County Municipal Code Ch. 1.13 Compliance Specialists

A. The compliance specialist is designated as a public officer of Mono County and is vested with the power to make arrests and issue citations for infractions and misdemeanor violations of county regulations as defined in Section 1.12.010(b), which the specialist has the authority to enforce in accordance with the provisions of this chapter and Section 836.5 of the California Penal Code. The compliance specialist shall be appointed by the community development director and shall report to the director or his or her designee.

B. The compliance specialist shall also oversee compliance with conditions imposed by Mono County through the development approval process and shall oversee compliance monitoring associated with State Mining and Reclamation Act processes in conjunction with the county State Mining and Reclamation Act Coordinator.

C. The compliance specialist may be assigned additional duties from time to time by the community development director or his or her designee.

D. The compliance specialist is authorized to initiate and prosecute actions in small claims court on behalf of the county to recover any fine, fee, cost, charge, or expense imposed on or owing by anyone as a result of an enforcement action taken by the specialist including, but not limited to, enforcement actions under Chapter 1.12.

(Ord. 07-07 § 1, 2007; Ord. 02-03 § 2, 2002.)

Under applicable state law, as well as other law, the county may keep the identity of informers who file citizen complaints pertaining to code violations confidential in situations where the county finds that disclosure of the identity of the informer is against the public interest because there is a necessity for preserving the confidentiality of his or her identity that outweighs the necessity for disclosure in the interest of justice. This privilege belongs to the county and can only be invoked by the compliance specialist or the community development director. This privilege does not prevent informants from disclosing their own identities if they choose to do so.

(Ord. 02-03 § 2, 2002.)

A. The compliance specialist is authorized to issue criminal citations for any misdemeanor violation of Mono County regulations observed by the specialist, as provided for under Section 853.6 of the Penal Code.

B. The compliance specialist is further authorized, pursuant to Penal Code Section 836.5, to arrest a person without a warrant whenever the specialist has reasonable cause to believe that the person has committed, in his presence, a violation of a county regulation as defined by Section 1.12.010(b).

C. Upon making an arrest pursuant to the authority conferred in this chapter, the compliance specialist shall release the arrested person in one of two ways: pursuant to Section 853.5 of the Penal Code when the violation of county regulation is an infraction, and pursuant to Section 853.6 of the Penal Code in the case of a misdemeanor violation.

(Ord. 02-03 § 2, 2002.)

While performing duties related to the enforcement of this code, the compliance specialist may possess a metallic badge of a size and design to be determined by the compliance specialist.

(Ord. 02-03 § 2, 2002.)

Any actual code-compliance cost incurred by the county under this chapter and code may be recovered through any applicable provisions of this code (including, but not limited, to Chapter 7.20), through state law (including but not limited to Government Code Section 54988), and any applicable federal laws. To collect such costs, liens may be imposed on real property belonging to a person who was responsible for violation of county regulation(s) as defined by Section 1.12.010(b) when legal authority exists to do so.

(Ord. 02-03 § 2, 2002.)