WEEK GROWERS MAY FACE FINES IN SCOTT CITY

SCOTT CITY -- Property owners who don't keep their yards free of overgrown weeds will be forced to pay for the city to cut them, under a measure being considered by the Scott City Council.

Currently, the city takes property owners to court to force them to have tall weeds cut. But council members said Monday a new procedure should be studied.

"The court system isn't working," said Council member Brenda Moyers. Others council members also expressed dissatisfaction with the procedure.

"We've got property all over town vacant lots that people don't want to mow," said Councilman John Rogers.

Under the suggestion of Councilman Terry Johnston, property owners who do not cooperate with the weed ordinance will be forced to pay the bill if the city hires someone to mow their property. The ordinance would apply to residence and business owners.

"I suggest we give them 10 days notice, and then we have somebody go in and do it," Johnston said.

He added that in the past, property owners who lived next to overgrown lots often had to wait weeks or months for the court system to force their neighbors to trim their yards.

The measure has not yet been approved by the council, but may be at their next meeting June 1.

When a complaint is made about high weeds on someone's property and the owner is found to be in violation of the weed ordinance, the city would have two options.

First, the city could deliver a notice to the property owner to cut the weeds within 10 days or the city would hire someone to cut them and the property owners would be billed for the expense.

If the property owner does not pay the bill within 60 days, a lien would be filed against the owner's property for amount of the mowing costs. The charges could then be collected along with property taxes, the ordinance states.

Under the second option, the city would issue a warning to the owner that he or she is in violation of the ordinance and if the property isn't trimmed within 10 days, the owner would be summoned to court.

If the owner pleads guilty, a fine would be assessed. Under a not guilty plea, the matter would go to trial. If the owner is then found guilty, a fine would be assessed or the owner may face a jail sentence for violation of a court order.

In order to be in violation of the ordinance, the weeds on the property must be more than a foot high.

Moyers said the city council should study the costs involved in the measure before the council approves it.

City Attorney Frank Siebert said the biggest cost would be the cost of mowing the property, plus a minor reporting cost for bringing the matter to court.

"The biggest question on whether you want to do this is that the city will have to enter into an agreement with someone to mow the property," he told the council.