City of Cape prefers cleanup bills to tickets for littering

Few motorists are ticketed for throwing trash out the window, but more Cape Girardeau property owners are paying for cleanup when the city decides enough is enough.

For motorists and property owners alike, the city seldom writes tickets for litter violations, despite the Keep Cape Beautiful Committee’s calls for greater litter control.

The number of litter citations issued by police decreased from 56 in 2011 to 10 in 2015, city records show.

At the same time, the number of work orders issued to Public Works crews to clean up littered properties grew from 21 in 2011 to 76 last year.

Patrolman and nuisance-abatement supervisor Ty Metzger said the drop in citations reflects the city government has found greater success in having public-works crews clean up littered properties and bill the property owners.

Volunteers make their way around Capaha Park collecting litter Saturday during the Great Cape Clean Up & Friends of the Parks Day in Cape Girardeau.Glenn Landberg

Metzger said he and his nuisance-abatement officers will give notice to owners, advising them to clean up their properties. Typically, owners are given seven days to comply. If property owners live out of town, the city will add three or four days for mailing to the time frame, he said. In addition, notices are posted on-site.

Owners have learned it is less costly for them to clean up their properties than pay a city bill that can amount to several hundred dollars, Metzger said.

Public-works crews also mow lots when requested by nuisance-abatement officers. Those costs also are charged to property owners.

Mike Tripp, public works solid waste superintendent, said his department handled 217 work orders last year to clean up litter and cut weeds and grass.

Tripp and Metzger said the city has increased its efforts to attack the litter problem in recent years.

Amid the focus on litter, scores of volunteers descended on the city’s parks and downtown Saturday to tackle beautification efforts as part of the 31st annual Friends of the Parks Day and the Great Cape Clean-Up. Those tasks included picking up trash, mulching and planting trees and flowers.

Former councilwoman Loretta Schneider, who serves on the committee, said she believes the city has “made tremendous strides” to clean up properties.

But she said more needs to be done to address trash being thrown out of cars by motorists and passengers. Police issued only one citation for that offense last year, records show.

“I don’t think it is a priority,” Schneider said.

Police, she said, typically only issue citations after people make formal complaints about specific incidents. She added few city residents are willing to make such complaints when they see littering.

“It has to be a priority with citizens,” she said.

Committee chairman Brian Langlois, who operates a bed-and-breakfast in the city’s downtown, said he has reported littering to police.

He has gone so far as to write down license-plate numbers when he sees trash being thrown from vehicles in his neighborhood so police can track down the litterbugs.

But Langlois said police officers should act when they see someone littering.

“One cigarette thrown out of a car is a litter violation,” he said.

Metzger agreed. But he said some police officers will overlook such offenses rather than issue tickets.

Often, he said, people will report littering but refuse to sign complaints. Unless an officer actually sees the littering, he or she cannot ticket the alleged offender when there is no signed complaint from an eyewitness, he said.

“It is tough, because in today’s society, a lot of people don’t want to get involved,” Metzger said.

Besides Metzger, the police department’s nuisance-abatement division has one part-time and two full-time officers.

The unit has more to do than just police litter, he said. The unit handles everything from litter and weeds to abandoned vehicles and animal control.

Under city ordinance, littering offenses are misdemeanors, subject to fines ranging from $125 to $500 and/or three months in jail.

But in practice, Metzger said, ticketed offenders are fined rather than jailed.

mbliss@semissourian.com

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