City Council last week put into effect a plan to help “step up their game” with unsafe and abandoned buildings across Elgin.Council members unanimously agreed on an ordinance amendment July 16, adopting a Texas local government code to speed up the process of getting building abatement cases in front of local judges. The process now allows city staff to quickly move forward with the removal of dilapidated structures officially defined as “substandard,” opposed to the “unsafe” criteria previously required by city code.“We got some really bad looking buildings in town, but if all the windows and doors are secured, that ...