Slobs beware: Fines for dumping trash or not shoveling your sidewalk just got more serious

By adamg on Sat, 02/13/2010 - 9:56am

Ross Levanto alerts us that a new law lets Boston (and other communities) attach certain municipal fines to your property-tax bill.

The Green Ticket law, co-sponsored by state Rep. Marty Walz on behalf of Mayor Tom Menino, is aimed at people who ignore the tickets they now get for dumping trash and ignoring the city law that requires them to shovel their sidewalks.

State Rep. Aaron Michlewitz, who backed the bill (and made it the topic of his first speech from the floor of the House), writes that in 2009, 45% of these tickets went unpaid.

So beware absentee landlords seeking to flip buildings and just plain slobs: The city can now slap a lien on your property if you don't pay up.

Neighborhoods:

Boston

Ad:

Like the job UHub is doing? Consider a contribution. Thanks!

Comments

Absentee landlords don't flip

By Haviland on Sat, 02/13/2010 - 11:38am.

Absentee landlords don't flip buildings. They rent them out and collect the cash until the places are ready to be condemned and then walk away leaving the neighborhoods with the mess. This bill will hopefully help push many of the absentees and real estate trusts to divest when their profits take a hit from finally having to pay for all their code violations.

No one pays those tickets

By anon on Sat, 02/13/2010 - 3:27pm.

No one pays those tickets because they are BS. We get them all the time, usually around break time, because I live close to a DUNKIN' DONUTS.

Wait a minute...

By tenfortyseven on Mon, 02/15/2010 - 11:47am.

they're ticketing you because you "live close to a DUNKIN' DONUTS" ?

I think he is saying

By Downtown anon on Mon, 02/15/2010 - 1:12pm.

That the ticket writers spend a lot of time at Dunkin' Donuts. When they
leave, they strike the next trash they see.

I live not far from Ross Levanto. Beacon Hill can be one of the trashiest places
in Boston. And living near the bottom of the hill means I have more people
depositing random trash on our part of the street (plates from pizza place, beer bottles, etc).
Others who do very little to secure trash. Why?

Neighbors who can be counted on to have their trash on the sidewalk
at 5:01PM. I hope this is the first step in a series to get people to think
more about when they dump their trash on the sidewalk.

ahhh....I was being

By tenfortyseven on Sat, 03/13/2010 - 12:44pm.

ahhh....I was being facetious.