When Fort Dodge property owners don't shovel the snow on their sidewalks promptly, the city government will dispatch someone to do it. The owners then get a bill that could be added to their property taxes.
That can happen pretty quickly.
Penny Clayton, the city clerk and finance director, said local law requires property owners to remove snow and ice within 24 hours of a storm. After that, she said, the city can send a contractor to do the job without notifying the owner.
Something very similar can happen when the grass isn't mowed. But because tall grass doesn't pose the hazard that snow and ice does, property owners get a notice before the city-hired mowing crew shows up, Clayton said.
Every year, the City Council refers dozens of unpaid bills for those mowing and shoveling jobs to Webster County Treasurer Jan Horton for collection as part of the property taxes. But that usually routine move ran into unusual opposition Monday night.
That opposition prompted the council to delay referring three cases to Horton.
One of those cases involved Becker Realty Investments, the owner of Dodger Apartments at 609 N. 22nd St. That firm received an $826.40 bill for snow removal done on Feb. 6.
Brian Becker from that firm told the council Monday that he thought the bill was excessive. He added that he gave City Manager David Fierke a list and photos of 200 properties where the snow wasn't removed all winter. He claimed nothing was done about those properties.
Fierke is on vacation, and Clayton said she wasn't familiar with the case.
City Attorney Maurice Breen recommended delaying action on Becker's case. He said the key question is whether the snow removal was completed around the entire complex or just one or two units.
Shawn Hemmestad, of Burnside, also persuaded the council to postpone referring his case to the county treasurer. He received a $452.50 bill for mowing and removing debris from property he owns at 1335 Eighth Ave. S.
He said that bill resulted from the illegal dumping of appliances on his property. He said he filed a complaint and gave the police a license plate number of a vehicle that may have been involved in the dumping. But he said officers didn't follow up on the case because the license plate number was connected to ''a fairly prominent citizen of Fort Dodge.''
Acting Police Chief Doug Utley said he would look into Hemmestad's complaint.
The council also delayed action on a $252.35 bill issued to Lynn Schultz of Johnston, because he may not be the owner of the property at 324 A St. That bill was for mowing.
A total of 39 other cases were referred to the treasurer for collection.
Each bill includes a $50 administration fee. Breen said that fee is to pay for all costs of the snow removal and mowing programs except the cost of the actual shoveling and mowing.
Contact Bill Shea at (515) 573-2141 or bshea@messengernews.net