By now we have all heard about councilor Stehly’s ‘Lawn Gate’;
Among them was Councilor Theresa Stehly, who said Tuesday she got word someone had complained about her yard, alleging it was unkempt and exceeding the maximum height requirement.
If it’s determined the complaint is valid, the city sends a letter telling the property owner to mow. If the violation isn’t corrected, they get a $100 fine and have to reimburse the city for hiring someone to mow.
What the city doesn’t tell you is even if you mow your lawn before a fine can by issued, you are now blacklisted. In other words if someone complains about your yard, and you mow it before you are fined, the city puts you on a ‘list’ anyway. The next time someone complains, the city issues NO warning and just mows it and fines you, and considers that first warning a warning throughout the season.
Seems a bit harsh.
What is ironic about this is that the city says they don’t have the man power to trim their own trees in the boulevard, but they have plenty of ‘manpower’ when it comes to fining you. Why does the city treat it’s taxpayers this way? Hopefully the next mayor will bring customer service back to the city.