Dixon aldermen have scheduled a city cleanup day this Saturday, but Mayor Darrell French and several aldermen said it’s time for city residents to take care of their own property as well as common areas of the city.
“I’ve asked for each councilman or councilwoman to go through their ward and give me a list of property that needs to be cleaned up,” French said at Monday night’s council meeting.
Alderman William Carter said the city’s nuisance ordinance needs more teeth.
“The way it is set up, the (nuisance notice) letter goes out certified mail and they have 15 days to respond, then they call up here and have 20 days to respond,” Carter said. “In that time, the weeds go up from knee-deep to neck-high.”
Carter said other cities have stricter rules than Dixon.
“I know in St. Robert, the police deliver the citations and they have five days to clean it up and there is a minimum fine of $500,” Carter said.
Several aldermen asked why Dixon no longer has police officers delivering nuisance notices and were told that having uniformed officers deliver the letters had offended some residents.
Alderman Vi Tyson didn’t understand that position.
“I can’t see somebody who has a mess in their yard being offended by being told to clean up their property,” Tyson said.
Alderman John Sheppard agreed.
“I’m 84 years old and I take care of my property; it just goes with being a property owner,” Sheppard said.
City Clerk Karen Hardwick said she’s received a call from an angry resident who wanted an explanation of why a specific property in the central part of Dixon had been allowed to deteriorate, and referred the call to Carter.
“She wanted you to call her; she ranted and raved and couldn’t believe the city would let somebody get away with property looking that bad,” Hardwick said. “Be ready for her, because she’s mad.”
Carter agreed to call and city aldermen agreed to look into amending the city’s nuisance ordinance, but agreed that nothing could be done until the city attorney had the chance to look at proposed changes.
Carter said he wasn’t sure a high fine of $500 was needed and agreed that might be “a bit extreme,” but said the main problem with nuisances in Dixon is that city officials haven’t insisted that residents comply with city rules.
French also asked the aldermen to consider raising the city’s trash rates, which are currently $10.98 per month for residential trash pickup and $25 for a two-foot dumpster and $35 for a four-foot dumpster. Higher rates exist for larger dumpsters and for out-of-town residents who use city trash pickup.
The rates haven’t been raised since 1999 and are much lower than other cities, French said.
Asked how much of an increase should be levied, French recommended a $5 increase for dumpster rates and a $1 increase for residential trash pickup.
While aldermen agreed that the current and proposed trash rates are low, French said the other side of the issue is that the city has seen a significant increase in unpaid utility bills.
Newly elected Alderman Lynn Whitten said most people who don’t pay their bills have no excuse.
“I have real problems with people who can’t pay their water bill,” Whitten said, citing a specific example.
“Can’t you figure out a way to pay $40 a month?” Whitten asked. “It’s not like she was unintelligent; she had a job. That lady sure didn’t deserve a break.”
The aldermen agreed to postpone the issue of hiking trash rates until next month when the city collector could provide a detailed list of trash rates in other cities.
Aldermen also discussed a need for replacement park playground equipment and discussed businesses and community organizations that might be willing to donate items to the city for park purposes.