OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

2026-04-16 Syracuse BAA & Health Sanitation Violations Hearing

Public Meetings — Thursday, April 16, 2026
BodySyracuse, New York
SessionPublic Meetings
DateThursday, April 16, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 31:17

Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

Why don't we stand up?

0:05

That's the rebill.

0:10

That's in the professional services.

0:13

We got bureaux.

0:16

That's pretty interesting.

0:17

Sorry, I know I missed your job.

0:20

Do you have like two years?

0:41

Oh, the data.

0:47

I gotta be identified.

0:51

Sorry, not my thoughts on one side.

0:55

Then I have to get a line.

0:59

Oh, where do you go counselor?

1:02

Thank you.

1:09

Oh, I think that's it.

1:39

I'm sorry.

1:40

It's okay.

1:43

Thank you.

1:43

Oh, you look so pretty.

1:44

I love it for us.

1:45

No.

1:46

With the roses.

1:47

Very nice.

1:48

Very nice.

1:50

Thank you.

1:59

Oh, that's revealing.

2:18

Oh, Jay using the big words.

2:30

All right.

2:31

Good afternoon, everybody.

2:33

We are transitioning to our second hearing of the day.

2:36

Um we have BAA.

2:39

Um joining us at the table are counselors Caldwell and Jones Roser, in addition to those that were here last session.

2:48

Um we have Leah Whitmer.

2:51

Good afternoon.

2:53

So we've got a little packet here.

2:54

You want to run us through that, and then we can jump into the numbers?

2:56

Yep.

2:57

Thank you.

2:58

So the first page front and back is just an overview of the municipal violations bureau as a whole.

3:05

This first hearing is on the BAA, which will also cover health and sanitation violations issued by DPW.

3:12

And then our next hearing will cover parking violations bureau, which also encompasses the school zone track enforcement.

3:19

So I just gave you a little overview so you can see what we're doing.

3:24

Obviously, this department continues to expand rapidly each year.

3:28

Um we've had a big focus on constituent services over the past year trying to automate as much of our processes as we've been able to.

3:38

So with the help of digital services, we rolled out our self-service portal, mvb.seer.gov.

3:47

And if anyone's gotten a parking ticket recently, you know there's a little QR code on the tickets, the electronic tickets you can scan that takes you right into the portal so you can see um all of the evidence, any photographs, um, the violation as well as the options to pay or contest are right there.

4:06

And then it's really nice because when somebody can test through that forum, it goes right into our software.

4:12

So it eliminates that back and forth paper shuffling.

4:15

Um in the same thing, we input kiosk in our office.

4:19

So if you come into the public-facing portion of our office, there's kiosk there that you can dispute right on the pad.

4:26

So our informate information aids walk the um constituents through how to do that.

4:32

Um as well as when constituents are disputing, they can pick their date and time for hearings as well as if they want to come in person or if they want to contest by mail, they can just write their defense and upload any attachments that they have.

4:48

How many months has it been?

4:49

Um, really quick.

4:50

Yeah.

4:50

It's been three months since we started collecting for school zone.

4:57

Well, so school zone is technically under parking, which is the next hearing.

5:02

I can answer okay.

5:03

Do you know how many months we've been so the school bus stop arm program?

5:08

We started ticketing in May after a 30-day warning period, so payments, you know, it took a little while for the tickets to go out, so probably we got our first disputes and payments rolling in end of May, beginning of June, and then for the red light and school speed zone violations after a 60-day warning period, those tickets started going out in November.

5:33

All right, sorry, you can't do it.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Technology and Innovation██████████████████████████████30%
Personnel Matters██████████████████████████26%
Budget Equity Analysis████████████████16%
Procedural██████████10%
Property Disposition██████████10%
Public Engagement██████6%
Environmental Protection██2%
Summary of Proceedings

2026-04-16 Syracuse BAA & Health Sanitation Violations Hearing

This was the second hearing of the day, focusing on the Building and Adjudication (BAA) department as well as health and sanitation violations issued by the Department of Public Works (DPW). Leah Whitmer, the department head, presented an overview of operations, including recent automation initiatives, service improvements, and a discussion of backlog and staffing challenges. The hearing also covered revenue generation, overdue fine rollovers onto property taxes, and compliance trends.

Discussion Items

  • Automation and Constituent Services: Leah Whitmer reported that the department rolled out a self-service portal (mvb.seer.gov) and installed kiosks in the office to allow constituents to dispute tickets, pay fines, or schedule hearings digitally. Smart screens in hearing rooms allow judges to display evidence (photos, videos) easily.
  • School Zone & Automated Enforcement: Although school zone stop-arm enforcement falls under parking (next hearing), it was noted that ticketing began in May 2025 after a 30-day warning period, with payments and disputes starting in late May/early June. Red-light and school speed zone violations began November 2025 after a 60-day warning period.
  • Code Violation Process: Whitmer explained the code compliance pipeline: a Notice of Violation (no fine) is issued, followed by a legal warning letter if non-compliance continues. If still unresolved, the case is sent to BAA, which issues a certified-mail ticket with a fine. Property owners have 30 days to pay or request a hearing.
  • Backlog and Staffing: Whitmer acknowledged a significant backlog in BAA hearings (especially by-mail disputes), partly due to manual processing in the IPS system and a shortage of part-time attorneys (required to be NY-licensed, city residents, and with 4+ years experience for BAA). A vacant deputy director position and the need to cross-train staff for automated enforcement have exacerbated delays. The department has 12 part-time judges but struggled to keep up with increased volume.
  • Out-of-State Owners and LLCs: Council members asked about tracking out-of-state owners and LLCs that avoid service. Whitmer noted that certified mail can be refused, and the department may not perfect service; if both attempts fail, the ticket is often denied and the case returns to codes or the law department. She expressed interest in lobbying for state law changes to allow first-class mail service.
  • Fine Rollover to Taxes: For the first time, unpaid BAA fines and penalties will be rolled onto the May 2026 property tax roll. Whitmer estimated this could bring in an additional $500,000–$600,000. Staff manually review each case before rollover to ensure due process was followed.
  • Budget and Revenue: Revenue projections for BAA tickets (including health/sanitation) are up. For FY2023-24, code referrals to BAA more than doubled. The compliance rate for health/sanitation violations rose from 67% to over 72% – meaning more residents are correcting violations within 24 hours to avoid fines. Temporary service (part-time judges) spending was $385,000, but Whitmer cautioned against reducing it due to the backlog.
  • Pay Rate Correction: An increased hourly rate to $158 (matching state assigned counsel) had not been implemented for part-time judges, causing an estimated $100,000 shortfall. Payroll is working to correct this retroactively.

Key Outcomes

  • No formal votes were taken. The hearing concluded with a motion to adjourn the BAA portion, which was seconded and passed, allowing the next hearing (parking violations) to proceed.
  • The department will continue efforts to automate BAA processes and hire additional part-time administrative law judges to address the backlog.
  • Unpaid fines from BAA will be rolled onto the May 2026 property tax rolls, with manual verification procedures in place.

Meeting Transcript

Why don't we stand up? That's the rebill. That's in the professional services. We got bureaux. That's pretty interesting. Sorry, I know I missed your job. Do you have like two years? Oh, the data. I gotta be identified. Sorry, not my thoughts on one side. Then I have to get a line. Oh, where do you go counselor? Thank you. Oh, I think that's it. I'm sorry. It's okay. Thank you. Oh, you look so pretty. I love it for us. No. With the roses. Very nice. Very nice. Thank you. Oh, that's revealing. Oh, Jay using the big words. All right. Good afternoon, everybody. We are transitioning to our second hearing of the day. Um we have BAA. Um joining us at the table are counselors Caldwell and Jones Roser, in addition to those that were here last session. Um we have Leah Whitmer. Good afternoon. So we've got a little packet here. You want to run us through that, and then we can jump into the numbers? Yep. Thank you. So the first page front and back is just an overview of the municipal violations bureau as a whole. This first hearing is on the BAA, which will also cover health and sanitation violations issued by DPW. And then our next hearing will cover parking violations bureau, which also encompasses the school zone track enforcement. So I just gave you a little overview so you can see what we're doing. Obviously, this department continues to expand rapidly each year. Um we've had a big focus on constituent services over the past year trying to automate as much of our processes as we've been able to. So with the help of digital services, we rolled out our self-service portal, mvb.seer.gov. And if anyone's gotten a parking ticket recently, you know there's a little QR code on the tickets, the electronic tickets you can scan that takes you right into the portal so you can see um all of the evidence, any photographs, um, the violation as well as the options to pay or contest are right there. And then it's really nice because when somebody can test through that forum, it goes right into our software. So it eliminates that back and forth paper shuffling. Um in the same thing, we input kiosk in our office. So if you come into the public-facing portion of our office, there's kiosk there that you can dispute right on the pad. So our informate information aids walk the um constituents through how to do that.

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