Code Compliance a Complicated Issue and Necessary for the Community By Joyce Godwin
Photo by Joyce Godwin. This is one example of litter in a field just off U.S. Highway 75 in Anna. The Code Compliance personnel for the city of Anna hope to help make a difference in the amount of litter in the area. Having a lot of wind adds to the frequency of litter.
M
ike Wherland is a Code Compliance Officer for the city of Anna. While most might bring up the mental picture of a guy writing citations to homeowners, Wherland says that is not what his job is nor is it the way he does it. Wherland works with Code Compliance Manager Kevin Martin and he says one of the biggest obstacles is the challenge to educate and inform Anna neighbors. “We want to ensure health and safety while improving the aesthetics and help keep Anna beautiful while cleaning up the area,” Wherland says. “We want to educate when we come into contact with people — we want to educate on the laws.” Wherland said, “Anna has a pretty bad litter problem right now. It’s also a pretty windy area and that complicates the situation.” He believes a little time is what is needed to help Anna neighbors head off the litter problems and it is already getting better. Wherland came to Anna from Midlothian with approximately five years of experience. “I had five different interviews for surrounding cities and was offered several but this is the 6
one I chose,” he said. “The city of Anna code compliance was attractive to me. It’s a great opportunity to be a part of the small city while expanding.” Wherland added that he is “grateful to be here working with a great team. Kevin [Martin] has been awesome to give me opportunities to grow in the department. I want to grow in the career and hope to eventually manage a department. Kevin has been a great mentor.” He added that interfacing with other departments is necessary and the people in Anna are easy to work with. “We have a great team in the Neighborhood Services Department,” he said. “They have been really receptive to everything we are doing and that makes my job more enjoyable.” Anna’s code compliance department is a two-man operation today but it is expected to grow as the city grows. Wherland says Martin is a pleasure to work with. They are going to stay pretty busy with the job since it’s only the two of them. These two are now Anna’s health department after taking over the responsibilities from Collin County just this year. Anna Living Magazine
Complaints may be made though phone or email and any adjustments will have a 10-day follow up. Wherland may be reached by calling the city of Anna or by email at mwherland@ annatexas.gov. “Serving Where It Matters” is a series in Anna Living Magazine to tell the stories of city of Anna personnel.
Mike Wherland
