City gears up for unlicensed contractor crackdown
Proposed ordinance calls for code enforcement policing, civil violation citations, fines
The city of Cape Coral is looking to ratchet up its efforts to stop unlicensed contracting.
An ordinance to that end was introduced at Wednesday’s Cape Coral City Council meeting.
Ordinance 49-26 addresses enforcing codes and ordinances against unlicensed contractors and includes a schedule of penalties with a maximum civil penalty of $2,000 that would be assessed by a code enforcement officer.
The proposed ordinance also provided for the use of a special magistrate authorized to order the violator to pay a civil penalty of $2,500 per violation.
To help offset costs, the city would add a $5 surcharge to permits.
An unlicensed contractor is defined as someone “who does not have the proper license from the State of Florida to engage in the type of work being performed.”
Councilmember Rachel Kaduk asked how the ordinance would be policed.
City Manager Michael Ilczyszyn said there are three major ways the ordinance will unfold. He said the reactive side is what they are going to see initially.
Contractors will provide names, as they already know who is doing the unlicensed work. Ilczyszyn said they would feed the city names, which will provide the initial onslaught of work.
Enforcement would then shift towards a proactive approach, he said.
“It comes from stings or just driving around. What I think is going to be more effective, this position partnering with DBPR,” he said, which can pull the list of owner/builder permits.
Ilczyszyn said working with the state Department of Business and Professional Regulation, the city will know what types of permits lend themselves to unlicensed contractors.
Kaduk said although she is naive to the subject, it seems that there needs to be an education piece teaching the public about unlicensed work. She said people will continue go with the cheapest person to get things done.
“I don’t know if it will ever stop. I don’t know if the $5 stops the unlicensed work,” Kaduk said.
Ilczyszyn said the ordinance is simply an enforcement tool to curb the activity of the people preying upon the unknown. He said the educational component will continue.
“Education and enforcement have to go hand in hand,” Ilczyszyn said.
The city estimates regulatory costs to be $150,000, including estimated revenues to cover the costs. It’s “good faith estimate of businesses likely to be affect by the proposed ordinance is 30,000 building permits.
The public hearing for Ordinance 49-26 is set for Aug. 19.
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