Clallam County commissioners have agreed to add two new code enforcement positions as part of the Department of Community Development’s “solutions-based approach” to tackling its backlog of more than 440 active cases.

“The whole point of this is to gain an atmosphere where we can gain compliance,” said Bruce Emery, Department of Community Development director, at the commissioners’ Feb. 13 work session.

“I’d love nothing more than for the program to be successful enough that their numbers get reduced because people figure out they mean what they say. Which is, I think, the way it should be,” he said.

The additional positions will be a field officer, bringing that total to 2.6 full-time positions, and a new administrative position.

The new positions, plus vehicle rental, will cost an estimated $64,429.

The money will be added to the Department of Community Development budget later this year as a “debatable emergency,” which is one that “could not reasonably have been foreseen at the time of making the budget.”

“(Our request) was off by $504, which was off in the right direction, less,” Emery said.

“But it’s still a lot to ask at this point as we’re already embarking on the year after having gone through the budget process,” he added.

Chief Finance Officer Mark Lane said adding additional expense to the general fund is not their preference but he totally understands that they want to set up code enforcement for success.