Marco Island Officials Clarify Code Fine Confusion

What appeared to be about $1 million or more in uncollected code fines as of June in Marco Island turned into being a significant net gain upon city official’s financial review in July.  

Nearly a year of Coastal Breeze News attempting to gain a clear picture of Marco Island code fine amounts led to confusion in June that was clarified by the city manager and chief of police during a meeting with this reporter in early July. 

In response to this reporter’s request for the total amount of code fines issued versus collected, Finance Director Guillermo Polanco shared a document that showed a total of $1.6 million invoiced and approximately $12,000 collected in less than a year’s time, ending in June 2025.  

However, city officials subsequently have said that the report was inaccurate.  

The document should have never been shared, City Manager Mike McNees said in an interview.  

The total included not only fines but also estimates for building permits that weren’t even billed, said Chief of Police Tracy Frazzano, who leads code enforcement as well as the police department. 

Polanco was not available to address the questions from the finance report and could not be present during the recent interview. 

“There is no excuse for it,” said McNees. 

When pressed for what may have led to the confusion, McNees said Polanco had just come off the completion of an audit. Meanwhile, the City has been undergoing its budget process for FY 2026. Still, it didn’t add up.  

“It was a communications failure,” McNees said.  

 “This is one where we didn’t just shoot ourselves in the foot. We shot the foot off,” McNees said.  

Going Forward with Clarity 

However, moving forward, Frazzano shared data that reflected a more accurate view of Marco Island code enforcement fines, which do include building code violations as well, McNees said.  

According to this newest data set provided by Frazzano for fiscal year 2024, with a fiscal year that begins October 1 and ends September 30, the City looked to collect more than it had invoiced. This is in part due to the code fine mitigation process, including settling large property liens from previous years, they said. It’s a stark contrast from the figures reported weeks earlier. And, FY 2024 is representative of a typical year, McNees said. 

The Corrected Data: FY 2024 

Total number of code enforcement fines issued: 230 

Total dollar amount of fines issued: $682,753 

Total amount of fines collected: $180,132 

Total amount of fines mitigated: $308,300 

Number of liens recorded: 19 

Total dollar amount of liens recorded: $280,455 

Code Compliance 

Code enforcement is not meant to be an income producer, McNees said. Rather, compliance is the goal of code enforcement, he maintained.  

In fact, that’s why some municipalities choose to name the department code compliance versus code enforcement, to reflect that the goal is to educate so people comply with city codes, even if they are visitors or otherwise unaware of local regulations.  

In FY 2024, there were 2,799 violations and 2,705 of them were closed, Frazzano reported. So, that indicates a 98.6 percent compliance rate which has been a goal of the city, she said.  

“Of those, 55 were unfounded, meaning we get there and a violation didn’t exist,” Frazzano said.  

Some of these violations include things like a trash can left out too long. The homeowner receives a warning or notice of violation to come into compliance. They bring in their trash can and don’t violate that rule again.  

Zombie Houses, Nuisance Properties, and Repeat Offenders 

Marco Island had a zombie house with code fines that added up to about $1 million, which were mitigated by a bank to sell the house, city officials said.  

“A zombie house is semi-abandoned. The pool is green. The screens are torn. The roof leaks. It’s a code enforcement nightmare and no one will respond,” McNees described.  

Often, this is caused by an unwell or deceased property owner without close kin.  

In this case, the person had been sick and the property went into foreclosure, McNees said. The City is not the first to be paid. Its lien comes after the mortgage is paid. The City chose to mitigate the fines to get the property off their books and back into the community.  

“For the ones who don’t comply, it’s a very tedious and step-by-step process,” said Frazzano. 

Some cases include daily violations that continue to mount for long periods of time. At fines of $100 per day, these can add up quickly, city officials said.  

This is when neighbors are calling us a lot and it becomes a nuisance property with a criminal aspect to it, Frazzano said.  

The city will generally have two or three of these if there is a spike, McNees said.  

“It’s a public nuisance. Then it becomes a misdemeanor, unless they’re selling drugs there, then it’s a felony,” Frazzano said.  

That’s when the city can go through a court process versus a magistrate process, she added. A magistrate does not have as much power as a judge, though they are hired to interpret city codes. 

Smaller Fines 

Smaller fines are pursued less vigorously. Fines of $250 or $500 may not go further than an invoice, City officials reported. 

“None of them just get ignored,” McNees said.  

“They are pursued just in a different way,” Frazzano said. Invoices are sent at30 days, 60 days, and 90 days, she said.  

“We try to get them to pay them up front without going through placing a lien on the property,” Frazzano said of these relatively smaller fines. 

City officials are considering whether a collections process is worthwhile for these smaller amounts, McNees said.  

“We haven’t worked that out,” he said. “Is somebody who is not responding to invoicing going to respond any more to a collection agent?” he pondered aloud.  

Code Processes 

Many people are surprised to learn how long it can take to collect on code fines, said McNees. It’s not a fast process, Frazzano said.  

The City is following Florida state statute chapter 162, she added.  

“It’s all about protecting private property rights,” McNees said.  

People wonder why it’s not as easy or as simple as giving a speeding ticket or issuing a citation for a driving violation, he added.  

“Driving is a privilege. Owning property is a right,” McNees said.  

This makes the process of pursuing fines more stringent for code violations than for traffic violations, he said. 

Rather than going to court, where a driver is required to attend, a person is not required to attend a magistrate hearing upon receiving a violation.  

Attorney’s Fees and Mitigation 

City Attorney Alan Gabriel sometimes assists with negotiations to mitigate fines. In a recent monthly report to City Council, Gabriel had charged  $5,775 for code-related work, which also included 16 hearings, said Frazzano.  

One case alone was mitigated and paid in the amount of $7,050, Frazzano subsequently reported, indicating that the legal costs can be covered.  

The City will not mitigate any fines if the violations are ongoing or if there is an open case, McNees said.  

“If they’re not acting in good faith, we’re not writing anything off,” McNees said.