March 19, 2024

City’s nuisance abatement fee increased

A fee of $65 will now be charged to citizens for any nuisance violations that are not corrected during the city’s warning period. The nuisance abatement fee was increase by $15 to better cover costs the city was incurring for processing violations.

Starting in 2013, the city began addressing community nuisance issues through an abatement process. Issues being addressed include tall grass and weeds, trash and garbage on properties, snow and ice on sidewalks and dead and dangerous trees.

To correct the issues, a warning is given to the property owner to fix a nuisance. If a violation has not been corrected following the warning period, which varies depending on the violation, the city abates the violation through the use of local contractors. The contractor bills the city for any work completed on the property.

Those costs, plus an administrative fee, are then billed to the property owner. If the bill remains unpaid, the costs are then assessed to the property and are due at the time of regular September taxes.

The city found that the average cost to the city per abatement case totaled $113. By increasing the fee, a larger portion of the cost is covered by the nuisance violator.

“The proposed increase is still well under the average cost per case, which allows the city to continue forward with a flat administration fee rather than individually calculated fees that require additional staff time for processing,” city administrator Bob Knabel said. “The increase will cover approximately $2,000 to 3,000 of nuisance costs per year as well as serve as an additional deterrent for the undesirable behavior.”

The increase in fee better covers expenses including staff time for inspections, billing and contractor coordination, vehicle maintenance and fuel and newspaper notifications for assessments.

“I think it is important to cover our cost so I’m glad that we have checked into this and are adjusting it accordingly,” councilwoman Evelyn George said.

Contact Jamee A. Pierson at 641-792-3121 ext. 6534 or jpierson@newtondailynews.com