Solicitor urges regular updates to Clifton Heights' online code with General Code

Summary

Solicitor McLean and borough staff discussed the process for codifying ordinances with the vendor General Code, recommending regular updates (semiannual or annual) so newly adopted ordinances appear online. McLean cited an example where an amusement-device ordinance had not yet been posted, creating confusion for users checking the online code.

Solicitor McLean explained how Clifton Heights has codified ordinances with a vendor (General Code) and recommended the borough send adopted ordinances to that vendor regularly so the online code remains current.

McLean said codification consolidates older ordinance numbers into code sections (for example, ordinance numbers become code sections such as section 36-3) and that many users rely on the online General Code version. He noted a recent problem where an ordinance the council passed (an amusement-device ordinance) had not yet been incorporated online, and attorneys or agents looking at the online code were seeing an older version.

The solicitor recommended sending ordinances to General Code every six months or at least annually, and suggested that municipalities sometimes post PDFs of newly passed ordinances on their own site until the vendor updates the code. McLean said updating the online code carries a cost that may be "a couple thousand bucks a year." The transcript did not record a formal decision or funding allocation to implement a regular update schedule.