It’s a house on the City of Billings Code Enforcement Division’s “dirty dozen” list, but with some time, effort and compassion, the code enforcement team is working to change that.
It all started in October of 2021, when code enforcement received a neighborhood complaint about a home with large amounts of trash in the yard.
“The way code enforcement works is we send two courtesy notices out. I hadn’t heard anything back from the homeowner after the first courtesy notice, so I always go and stop and knock on a door and then try to meet them to see what’s going on, see if everyone is healthy,” said Todd Morgan, code enforcement officer.
Morgan was greeted by an elderly couple, confused by the request.
“I met them at the door and talked to them and just speaking with them, to have to clean up the property, they just couldn’t wrap their mind around it,” Morgan said.
Recognizing the couple was elderly and unable to grasp and understand the violations or repercussions, code enforcement wanted to avoid a court ordered abatement.
Morgan did some research and was able to find out the homeowner has two daughters, one on the east coast, and the other on the west.
The violation, paired with the couple’s condition, made for a very unusual situation.
“We don’t have the financial means to clean up everybody’s property every time we have a complaint, they have to meet certain circumstances. Financial, age related, health related, no outside available help for them, and these folks met all of that,” Morgan said.
Through communication and planning, the code enforcement department also learned the trash wasn’t produced by the homeowner. She was trying to do a good deed.
“The homeowner goes to the local park every single day and picks up trash, litter, cans, and brings it home and puts it onto her property,” Morgan said.
On the afternoon of Thursday, Mar. 24, 2022, Morgan, along with Code Enforcement Manager Tina Hoeger, and Code Enforcement Officers Tanya Punt and Marshall Glunt, arrived at the property, and with the homeowner’s permission, spent two hours collecting aluminum cans.
“All the cans were just loose as you can see in the pictures and strewn about, so we had to do a lot of digging, it was a lot of work,” Morgan said.
In total, they collected 222 pounds of cans.
They know the exact weight because code enforcement took the cans to a recycling facility and received $124.32 in return.
Every single penny went right into the hands of the homeowner.
“It’s very rewarding. We don’t get to see, or deal with the public in a positive manner every single time. Code enforcement, we’re telling people they need to clean up their property, so we don’t have good feedback a lot of the time, so it was very rewarding,” Morgan said.
There is still more work ahead at this property for code enforcement. They plan to return and remove more trash.
And just like last time, the division will recycle what they can for cash and turn it over to the homeowner.
Although not all interactions with code enforcement are desirable, their mission is to make sure Billings continues to be a desirable place to live.
“We’re trying to keep a happy, healthy neighborhood so that everybody’s property values maintain or increase, trying to keep clean neighborhoods throughout the city,” Morgan explained.
This property clean up is a direct result of the Public Safety Mill Levy passed by Billings voters in 2021. 
Because of those supporting funds, the Code Enforcement Division was able to implement a code enforcement manager, and now the division is looking for creative ways to not only enforce city ordinance, but to improve the city by helping with neighborhood clean ups like this.
Note: Names and address were intentionally left out of this story as to not violate HIPPA privacy rules.