Huntingburg approves land sale, faces code enforcement staffing concerns

A trash-cluttered property and the city’s thinning code-enforcement capacity took center stage at Huntingburg’s council meeting, where Janet Schnell said debris and an increasing animal population had continued to build up next door for two weeks despite a permanent court injunction. Her complaint pushed the city beyond a routine land sale and into a larger question: how long can Huntingburg rely on a small preventive-inspections system when residents say violations keep resurfacing?

The council also moved a property deal forward without opposition. Officials opened a public hearing on the proposed sale of two city-owned lots at Veteran’s Parkway and North Geiger Street, just east of Geiger on Veteran’s Parkway in the Main Street development area. Mayor Neil Elkins said the parcels were part of that redevelopment area, and City Attorney Phil Schneider said the $179,600 offer was above the average of two appraisals and would cover appraisal costs and the buyer’s commission. With no public comment, the hearing closed and the council approved Resolution 2026-20 to advance the sale.

Schnell’s comments sent the meeting into a more pointed discussion about enforcement. Schneider said a court order was already in place, and if Huntingburg Code Enforcement confirms violations, the council could pursue contempt action. Any fine tied to contempt would be set by a judge, not the city.

That exchange widened into a staffing issue that has been building behind the scenes. Council members acknowledged that unresolved violations may require a more formal response, including the possibility of budgeting for a full-time code-enforcement position. Officials also said the fire chief’s workload has grown, making it harder to keep up with regular inspections of commercial buildings, rentals, historic properties and other preventive checks.

That strain matters because code enforcement is not a narrow back-office task in Huntingburg. The city’s code-enforcement role covers field inspections and enforcement of municipal provisions involving animal regulations, business licenses, operations permits, public nuisance, property maintenance and structure design. It is housed on the planning and community-development side of city government, and the city’s department listings route residents to code-enforcement services through the main government phone lines.

The fire department’s own description helps explain why officials are wrestling with the workload. Huntingburg Fire Department says its responsibilities now extend beyond fire suppression into an all-hazard public-safety approach, adding another layer to the city’s preventive work.

The council also approved an updated Drug and Alcohol Policy for transit compliance and reviewed the city’s annual TIF report. The 2026 review found no excess assessed value in Huntingburg’s seven TIF allocation areas, including OFS, Northwest Industrial, Industrial Park West, East Styline, 400 West and River Ridge. With no excess increment available for the 2026 payable 2027 budget year, the city closed the meeting still balancing growth, enforcement and neighborhood stability.