The Live Oak City Council approved abolishing the code enforcement board Tuesday night and replacing it instead with a special magistrate.

Councilman Bennie Thomas made the motion because he thinks there is not enough being done in the current structure. Councilman John Yulee made the second. The vote passed 4-1, with Councilman Adam Prins voting against.

According to City Attorney Erny Sellers, it may be a few months before this could happen because an ordinance would have to be written.

“I would just like to say that back in April this was brought up, it was put in committee, it died in committee, and then was brought to full Council anyway,” said Prins. “It got tabled until May, and it was brought back and killed with three votes, my vote, councilman Yulee’s vote and councilman Thomas’ vote.”

Prins said that the argument before was that installing a special magistrate would take the “human element out of it” and would be basically putting a judge in place of a board.

“On the record, I think this is a mistake,” he said.