Residents in a predominantly African-American neighborhood of Enterprise say they are being neglected by city officials and law enforcement.

Seventy-four-year-old Spencer Evans says he spends much of his time cutting the grass and cleaning a vacant lot across the street from his John Street home. If he didn't, Evans says it would become overgrown and attract snakes and rodents. He wants the city to hold absentee property owners responsible for the upkeep of their property:

"I’m out here cleaning-up someone else's property. Sometimes I don't feel well; I pay other people to clean-up someone else's mess,” said Evans.

Delores Brooks asked Mayor Kenneth Boswell and the city council to enforce nuisance ordinances in her neighborhood.

There are half-dozen old, abandoned and rat-infested homes. It attracts an assortment of unhealthy conditions.

"Drugs and rodents all over the place; we are looking for help from the city. If you’re a property owner, really you should care about cleaning-up your land for the neighborhood," said Brooks

But Police Chief T.D. Jones disputes resident allegations that their on a low-priority list.

On July 4th, Chief Jones says his officers couldn't immediately respond to firecracker reports due to several serious incidents taking place.

"We had an armed person call. A person with a gun call, several disorderly all on that particular night," said Chief Jones.

The city council instructed code enforcement personnel to visit the neighborhood and assess the situation.