Orem, Utah is a city of almost 100,000 people located next to the City of Provo and Utah Lake. Orem is home to Utah Valley University, the largest public university in Utah and is also one city away from Provo, where Brigham Young University is located. As a university town, Orem has a large student population that creates a lot of housing challenges for the community, from a shortage of housing to high rents.

In addition to being home to tens of thousands of college students, Orem also has a wealth of older neighborhoods, many with aging populations. “One of the issues that we are having right now is that long term residents are passing away in those older neighborhoods, and their children are selling the properties to landlords because they can get a higher price point from investors” says Kena Mathews, Orem’s Community Services Manager, who oversees the city’s code enforcement department. “Where we used to have families and seniors who maintained their properties, now we are seeing more investor properties and less individual homeownership, especially in our older, target neighborhoods, and are starting to struggle with some landlord issues that we hadn’t seen in the past.”

A Transition in Code Enforcement

The combination of a large student population, older neighborhoods, and an influx of investor properties keeps the city’s code enforcement department busy. In addition to those ongoing challenges, Orem’s code enforcement also faced a major transition in June 2021 when it transferred from the Orem police department to the city’s Community Services division, which focuses on neighborhood improvement programs.

The decision to move to civilian code enforcement was prompted by several factors. “In the police department, our officers were getting pulled away from other duties that were definitely needed in the community, and it was getting harder and harder for them to focus on their code enforcement duties,” Mathews says.

Moving code enforcement to Community Services also lined up with the city’s vision for enforcement. “Police enforcement is a little different than civilian enforcement,” Mathews says. “We wanted to be less forceful and more compassionate in our enforcement and focus on providing resources to help families help themselves.”

Now known as the Neighborhood Improvement Team, Orem’s code enforcement department operates with a goal of promoting safe and welcoming neighborhoods by increasing awareness of neighborhood codes and notifying residents whose properties are not in compliance. The team works closely with Police, Mental Health, Community Services, Planning and Zoning, and the Administrative Law Judge to address concerns quickly and respectfully.

The Software Search Begins

When code enforcement operated out of the police department, officers used the police department’s law enforcement software, which didn’t exactly meet the needs of code enforcement – and which they couldn’t keep using once the transition to Community Services was complete. “We felt like we needed more code enforcement friendly software,” Mathews says.

The city’s top priorities for new software were for a product that was professional-looking, easy to use and inexpensive. “We also really wanted the ability to email, text and integrate with our current software programs, many of which were built in-house,” Mathews says. “We had considered building a product in-house at one point, but our IT team was overwhelmed with other projects at the time and felt like they couldn’t do what we were looking for in the necessary timeframe.”

After talking with other code enforcement teams throughout Utah – and some good old fashioned Internet research via Google – the department settled on a short list of candidates and began meeting with companies to whittle down prospects. “We felt like Comcate was the best one of those options at the time,” Mathews says. “It was the most built-out, the most professional-looking, had what we needed it to have, and was also in our ballpark price point.” Because the move to Community Services happened midyear, the department originally didn’t have any funding earmarked for the new software, but was able to utilize some COVID-related funds to make it happen.

Making a Difference in the Community

Moving to dedicated code enforcement software has helped Orem’s Neighborhood Improvement Team streamline their operations. “When we first started, we had close to 120 cases or more that were open or had not been dealt with,” Mathews says. “We were trying to manage those on a shared drive or spreadsheet, and it was challenging.” Once the department moved to Comcate’s Code Enforcement Manager, getting organized became easier. “The overall organization has really helped us manage a lot more cases than they were managing in the past.”

Mathews says the ability to schedule inspections, have all the materials in one place (instead of pulling from multiple areas), and to pull up all the codes directly within the software has made it easier for the team to manage their cases. She says it’s even helped increase the department’s overall professionalism. “Our citations aren’t just coming out of Word or Google docs now. They look more professional.”

By helping the Neighborhood Improvement Team work more efficiently, this in turn has helped the department better connect with its community, thanks in part to the software’s ability to easily pull up case details and streamline follow-up with complainants. “It makes them feel heard, and they feel like we are doing something,” Mathews says. “If someone calls me directly, I no longer have to say ‘I’ll have to call the officer and call you back.’ I can actually pull up cases and say ‘Let’s see what’s going on and we can do,’ which is helpful. That way the complainant knows we are working on it.”

The software’s reporting features have also made it easier for Mathews and the Neighborhood Improvement Team to share the work they are doing with others. Mathews meets regularly with the Orem Neighborhood Commission, which is made up of district representatives and several members of city council, as well as with target neighborhoods and faith-based leaders in those neighborhoods. “It’s been nice to say ‘Hey, we’ve done this much,’ or ‘These are the issues that we are seeing.’”

Overall, Mathews says they have found Comcate’s code enforcement software to be valuable. “There’s always that lawn or that house that we are dealing with, but I definitely think that we are making a bigger difference because we are able to be more organized and address things in a better way.”

Her favorite thing about working with Comcate? “The customer support that we have gotten is the best piece of all of it, especially Paige, our Client Success Manager. She’s very responsive!”

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