Address signs in Socorro need to be fixed by March

Socorro, TEXAS-

Some residents in Socorro will be easier to find thanks to the city.

The interim city Manager Alejandro Vidales announced today the city is kicking off "Operation safe at home safe at work."

The operation will put up address signs on 10,000 homes or businesses.

"We want to do it before March 31 because a new law kicks in that makes it illegal not to have your house marked or visible from the street," said Vidales.

Thousands of homes in Socorro don't have address signs and that could make emergency situations tough to handle.

Officials said the lack of address displays makes it hard for police and first responders to find the homes they are called out to.

Lt. Jose Alvarez of the Socorro Police Department said it's a problem his officers deal with daily.

"Seconds make a difference right now. My dispatchers aside from the address have to get a description of the residence and even the vehicles that are parked in front of the home so we can find it. An address sign is essential and would help out a lot. "

Richard Guiterrez, Socorro's public works director, is out in the community all day and said he witnesses this problem first hand.

"You can see an ambulance go by, and it goes back and forth having a hard time finding the actual place," he said.

The city said it's more than just showing addresses, some of them aren't correct and that has to be fixed before any signs can even be put up.

Sam Leony, director of planning and zoning, said, "We have duplicate addresses in different areas. and some have odd and even addresses on the same side of the street."

Leony said the city has to go through a legal and lengthy process to make sure residents have the correct address.

"We have to confirm with the internal appraisal district, we confirm the location with the central GIS system and finally assign the proper address to that property," he said.

Leony said as they begin to look at each neighborhood they will identify which address need to be changed and residents will be notified through mail.

The city said it is working with different agencies, corporations and even seeking grants to fund Operation Safe at Home, Safe at Work. Officials said their last resort is to charge residents for address signs and if they have to buy the sign, it will not cost more than $10.

Although they plan on putting up all 10,000 signs by the end of March, the city said this will be an ongoing project to make sure that every home has the correct address and sign.

Also homes that already have address signs or their address number somewhere on their property will have to meet the regulations put forth by the new law and make sure they are visible.