Hit 'Em with Fees

The city may consider big increases in dumping fees in an effort to get alleviate the long-running problem of people dumping stuff in the quiet corners of the city.

Not a bad idea, $25 does seem kind of piddling, but the real problem here is enforcement. A $250 fine sounds great, but if you can't catch the dumper, the fine is useless. It might make some people think twice, but I'm willing to bet most folks who throw trash in the woods don't pay attention to these things.

It does bring up another issue, however, which seems to be the slow movement to update a lot of things in the city. Like increasing dumping fines over $25, and going after tax deliquents after three months instead of one year. We're not going to slog through the research, but these are just two of a number of examples over the last year.

Perhaps the City Council should consider creating a subcommittee to review all fees and fines and other revenue items like past-tax payments, and revise them all for the 21st Century. Just seems like it's kind of a fly-by-night effort so far, and a little organization can go a long way.