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With the number of foreclosures on the rise in Bowie, there are few people more aware of the negative impact of the trend than Jamie Braun. A code compliance officer for 10 years, Braun, 32, said complaints of unmaintained yards and dilapidated homes have skyrocketed in the last year as a result.

The city used one contract grass mower in 2007 to address the problem of unmaintained properties and cut the lawns of 56 properties that year, Braun said. So far in 2008, the city has contracted with five mowers to cut 120 properties.

"We figure we are going to triple [the number] this year," Braun said.

A 1994 graduate of Bowie High School, Braun said she enjoys playing a role in the upkeep of the community. She got her first taste of work for the city through a summer internship program and liked it so much she wanted to stay. She began her career 15 years ago manning the phones of the compliance department and slowly learned the city codes as she took complaints.

"When you see something that needs help to look better and seeing the transformation, that is rewarding," Braun said.

Now Braun is in charge of checking on homes with previous complaints to make sure violations have been addressed.

"Most of the time as we go back to check on old things, we will find new things," said Braun, while making the rounds on city streets.

As if on cue, she stopped to make note of a new offense, a crumbling driveway and car without license plates, while in route to check on the removal of yard waste from a homeowner's front lawn. Pulling over to the side of the road, she typed the new offense into the laptop computer installed in her car.

After about four hours on the street, Braun will return to the office for the remainder of the day where she can print records of all the new offenses she's discovered for citations.

The city employs four full-time code compliance officers and two part-time officers, said Stephen Roberts, the Animal Control and Code Compliance supervisor. According to the city budget, the department of code compliance cited 6,300 violations in fiscal 2008. Violations of the city code could include lawn maintenance issues such as tall grass and dead trees or parking issues such as inoperable vehicles parked on the street. Residents are expected to fix a violation or the city will obtain a court order to fix it and send the bill to the resident.

Roberts said the city formed its own code compliance department about 20 years ago.

"I'm sure they wanted a better service than the county could provide at the time," he said. "Now if you go outside incorporated areas [of Bowie], you are going to see a vast difference."

Braun, who now lives in Crofton, said the difference in code control is obvious once she crosses into Anne Arundel County.

"Anne Arundel is a lot more tolerant and it's sometimes really frustrating," she said. "On the way home I see the ‘Crofton Singles' signs [on the side of the road] and I think ‘Someone needs to come out here.'"

While residents may not look forward to a visit from a code officer, Braun makes sure to explain codes in laymen's terms to residents to ensure they understand their violations and said she has even been thanked for issuing some citations.

"One woman said ‘Thank you so much, I've been trying to get this done for so long and my husband wouldn't do it,'" Braun said of a citation she issued for peeling paint.