LaredoBuzz.Com

Courtesy Xochitl Mora,

Customer Service Week celebrated, employees recognized for providing customer service to citizens throughout the year

(Laredo, TX )  For many years now, the City of Laredo has had a focus on customer service, making sure that every department is always ready to provide thoughtful, courteous and prompt service to customers.  In that spirit, earlier this week, customer service representatives from throughout the City of Laredo were recognized for their daily work.  Additionally, four code enforcement officers were awarded from the Building Development Services, Community Development, Environmental Services and Health departments.  From one of these, the first ever CODE ENFORCEMENT OFFICER OF THE YEAR was honored.

In fact, the committee had a difficult time in selecting from the finalists for the Code Enforcement Officer of the Year.  Areas the committee focused on included current year accomplishments, such as adapting and embracing the new tablet to assist in their violations notices; integrity, concern and  involvement with citizens to educate them on ordinances and policies; attitude and ability in assisting with priority assignments by the City of Laredo; participating in extra community events and campaigns, such as tire-pick-ups, district or park clean-ups,  and professional activities and endeavors; going above and beyond the call of duty, such as taking initiative in their work; and tenure and an impressive track record.

Eusebio Benavides, a code enforcement inspector with the Community Development, was named Code Enforcement Officer of the Year.  In the nomination submitted by the department director, Ronnie Acosta, she wrote, “Benavides is a hard working employee who has a strong work ethic, handles citizen’s cases diligently, provides excellent customer service and has good communication with citizens.”

During the last quarter, Benavides, as an inspector for District VII, has issued over 100 written warnings, mailed out over 50 notices of violations, picked up over 25 tires from the streets, has completed about 200 inspections and over 200 re-inspections, has responded to 5 court cases and submitted more than 10 complaints to court. In addition, Benavides has helped other City departments by targeting a combination of over 60 ordinance violations including illegal vendors, garage sales without City permit, zoning violations, sign removals and illegal dumping.  Benavides, an almost 37-year veteran of the City of Laredo, was also named as Inspector of the Year for the Community Development Department.

Also named as Inspector of the Year for their respective departments were:

·            Building Development Services:  Alma Delgado, street cut inspector.  Among the highlights for this 12-plus year City of Laredo employee include: CEAT Code Enforcement and Work Zone Traffic Control certification;  issued a total of 70 citations for building carports, palapas, block fences, driveways, installation of irrigation systems, etc.  without a permit; issued a total of 96 Stop Work Orders for building carports, palapas, block fences, driveways, installation of irrigation systems, etc.  without a permit; follows through on complaints from 3-1-1 and provides customer service to citizens, contractors and her colleagues on a daily basis;

·         Environmental Services Department: Gerardo Piña, Jr., environmental enforcement inspector.  Besides his stellar record of code, Pina coordinates multiple training events for his fellow officers, such as the yearly Code Enforcement Officer training which provides all City Code Officers their necessary continuing education units (CEU’s), as well as his deep commitment to his position as 1st Vice-President of the Code Enforcement Association of Texas (CEAT). In fact, through Piña’s leadership, Laredo will be hosting the Annual CEAT conference this February! Piña’s main specialization is in illegal dumping, floodplain management, mechanic (auto) related industries, and allowable fill materials in developments and always demonstrates a strict-yet-fair attitude towards enforcement of the City’s ordinances.  Additionally, Piña is always ready to participate in events involving cleanups for Council-driven projects and programs promoting Keep Laredo Beautiful.

·         Health:  Miguel Morales, health inspector.   Morales has been with the City for almost 9 years, and in that time, he has been instrumental in implementing the tire permit and ordinance enforcement of the tire shops, has built a good communication system with tire shop owners and has held several training sessions with them and with the public, as well, to be more responsible, resulting in a 20% increase in tire disposal by tire shops at the City landfill. . He is also quick to volunteer for task forces and clean-up activities especially as it pertains to tires, solid waste, potential water and land contamination, vector control,  and is part of the team to conduct spraying for mosquito abatement  to prevent vector-borne diseases (dengue, West Nile, Chikungunya, tick disease, typhus and Lyme disease). He is always willing to help the public, his peers, responds to after hour calls and has had several commendations from the public for his education efforts and good customer service.

City Manager Jesus Olivares thanked all of the code enforcement inspection officers of every department, stating that through their efforts, the community is getting cleaner, people are coming in compliance with ordinances and the City of Laredo is progressing properly as it continues to grow and develop.