FARRELL — One of the first things Farrell City Manager Michael Ceci noticed after taking the job in January was the number of blighted properties in town and places in need of cleanup.

“I saw garbage in the alleys,” Ceci said.

Getting that garbage cleaned up, tearing down condemned properties and otherwise enforcing the city’s quality-of-life ordinances are top priorities, Ceci said.

For eight months, he’s been working with code officer Mark Yerskey and assistant code officer Jonathan Laird to identify problem areas and make sure everyone’s abiding by city ordinances.

Ceci has emphasized taking a firm stance against violators no matter who they are.

Such was the case when Hermitage City Commissioner Rita Ferringer was cited Friday for violating Farrell’s rental property inspection ordinance.

“Everyone’s treated the same,” Ceci said. “I don’t care who you’re related to or who you are or what you do. This has to be consistent and equitable.”

The citation was filed against Ferringer for failing to schedule inspections at two rental properties in Farrell. Yerskey and Laird said they repeatedly tried to contact Ferringer, to no avail.

She left a message with the code office after the citation was filed in District Judge Ronald E. Antos’ court, Yerskey said.

“I called her multiple times, left messages and she never responded,” Laird said. “My hands are tied. Now she’s got a citation.”

She could face a fine of between $100 and $1,000 per offense – although the city makes every effort not to persecute? violators, Yerskey said.

Ferringer said Monday that she was waiting for the city to return her calls. She said she had no problem with the city inspecting her properties and said the citation might help her to be able to evict a problem tenant.

“I have a tenant who hasn’t paid rent in a year,” she said. “I did call the city this morning (Monday) and they’ve never returned my call.”

She said she had no record of the city’s efforts to contact her.

“I don’t expect to get a break,” Ferringer said.

The city incurs labor costs from hours and hours of time spent pursuing scofflaws, many of whom ignore repeated letters and telephone calls, Ceci said.

“The worst thing you can do is not respond,” he said.

The city has 526 properties to inspect annually, Yerskey said, and officials are willing to work with rental property owners to schedule the inspections, which cover basic safety issues like ensuring the utilities and plumbing are in working order and the building is structurally sound.

“We concentrate on the safety items,” Yerskey said.

The city doesn’t inspect rentals administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Section 8 or Mercer County Housing Authority rentals, Ceci said.

Scheduling is flexible, and the owner doesn’t have to be present for the inspection, Yerskey said.

The city’s also actively enforcing its grass cutting and refuse removal ordinances and has filed 80 citations against people who don’t have garbage removal, although officials said they aren’t and don’t intend to be a collection agency for Tri-County Industries, the company that removes garbage in the city.

Tri-County charges $54.90 per quarter for unlimited waste removal, and other, cheaper options are available for singles and senior citizens whose garbage is limited, Ceci said.

Delinquent garbage accounts have dropped from between 300 and 400 at the beginning of the year to 79, Yerskey said.

Ceci, Yerskey and Laird each said the city is only trying to keep things cleaned up, and the citations aren’t a cash cow for the city.

“Some of these issues have been resolved amicably,” Yerskey said.

“This is a community. We want to do what’s right,” Ceci said.

Over the long-haul, the stiffened enforcement will pay off, Ceci said.

“I’m convinced a year from now, it’ll be different.”