City Changes Future By Optimizing Municipal Law

BIRMINGHAM, Ala., Oct. 29, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- For decades, the City of Tarrant, a small bedroom community turned industrial city, has struggled with blight, deserted property and environmental problems.  Hand Arendall LLC partner Benjamin S. Goldman watched as city officials faced mounting problems with burned houses, abandoned cars and garbage issues.

But in 2011, Goldman began working with city leaders to help force change. For that work, Goldman, 36, was honored with the Daniel J. Curtin Young Public Lawyer of the Year Award by the International Municipal Lawyers Association (IMLA). The Award seeks to recognize a public law practitioner who has provided outstanding service to the public and possesses an exemplary reputation in the legal community.

Goldman accepted the award on October 22, 2012, at the IMLA's 77^th Annual Conference in Austin.

The award focused on Tarrant's efforts to remediate urban blight through programs Goldman helped design and facilitate, including the revitalization of the historic downtown district, the creation of a tax increment financing district, the implementation of an environmental docket in the Municipal Court, a new dangerous buildings ordinance and a program for the removal of blighted buildings, the implementation of a property inspection policy to bring dilapidated properties into compliance with applicable building code, and the initiation of the Tarrant Optimization Project (T.O.P.). The City has since remediated approximately two percent of residential housing in the City.

When Tarrant had to turn the cost of garbage service over to residents because of budget constraints, the number of residents who signed up for service was dismal. As garbage piled up on streets, Tarrant faced a public health problem. Goldman obtained a change in City policy so customers seeking to establish electric service could not do so until the City verified that the customer was subscribed to garbage service.

As Tarrant's Prosecutor, Goldman began conducting Environmental Dockets designed to address problems affecting neighborhoods. In further remedy to the garbage problem, a standard plea has been arranged for the Environmental Dockets where the defendant will remedy whatever condition brought the defendant to court, will subscribe for garbage service, will pay a monitoring fee, and will agree to remain under the Court's jurisdiction for one year. The Environmental Dockets had unintended consequences on crime, cutting the burglary rate by 50 percent.

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SOURCE Hand Arendall LLC