The Fairfield City Council’s Personnel Committee discussed job descriptions for two new positions at its March 23rd meeting: a Community Service Officer and a Planning and Zoning Director — a direction the city has been moving toward since its previous code compliance officer stepped down in the fall of 2025.
The city’s code enforcement history has been in transition for several years. The position was part-time until 2022, when the council voted to make it full-time following a staffing change. After the most recent officer’s departure, the council began exploring whether a single position was sufficient to handle the city’s growing enforcement needs, and landed on the idea of splitting the responsibilities between two departments entirely.
The Community Service Officer would be a civilian position under the police department, focused on ticketing, parking enforcement, mowing violations, and animal control — taking on enforcement duties that a traditional code compliance officer lacked the authority to carry out. The Planning and Zoning Director would handle larger code enforcement and nuisance matters and would potentially represent the city in court proceedings, overseeing ordinance updates, inspections, and coordination with the city’s Board of Adjustment and Planning and Zoning Board.
The Personnel Committee recommended the council approve posting both positions, with the Community Service Officer able to start immediately and the Planning and Zoning Director position likely not beginning until fiscal year 2026-27. However, because job descriptions were not included in the agenda packet, the council voted to place the item on the next meeting’s agenda for full review before approving the postings.
Photo by A.J. Roe.
