Thursday, July 02, 2009

St. L County Issuing Summons to Prosecute Residents under Trash Collection Program

Residents say they should not be required to pay a third party for services they did not order

John Doe is a life-long resident of St. Louis County. He hasn’t paid a trash bill or had trash services at his residence for the past 15 years. (Click on photo to enlarge)

Mary Smith is also a life-long resident of St. Louis County. She also hasn’t paid a trash bill or had trash services for the past 15 years. Mary was served with a summons on June 26, 2009 to appear in Municipal Court of St. Louis County for failure to have waste collection and is being faced with a fine, filing of a lien on her property or possibly a jail sentence.

Now both of these people obviously have trash. What’s the difference? Why is one being prosecuted while the other is not? Something is wrong with the system.

John Doe lives in a subdivision that chose to opt out of the county’s trash program. John can do whatever he wants regarding his trash. John chose to take his trash to his place of business to dispose of it in the company dumpster.

Mary Smith does not live in a subdivision and was not allowed to opt out of the trash program. She has a business next door and places her trash in the company’s dumpster. Mary is being faced with prosecution.

Currently more than 320 subdivisions in St. Louis County can do exactly what John Doe is doing. They can pick and choose as they like.

Allan Fexer, a Lemay resident at 606 Bayless Ave., has the same problem as Mary Smith. On June 26, Mr. Fexer was served with a 5-page summons to appear in Municipal Court of St. Louis County. He is charged with non-compliance of the waste management program. His court date is Tuesday, July 28 at 7:00 p.m. at the County South Division office in Keller Plaza at 4544 Lemay Ferry Rd. (63129). The summons indicates a fine amount of $100 for the first violation. Mr. Fexer says he has no intention to pay a third party for services not requested, and many county residents support him.

These scenarios are real. Mr. Fexer is not alone as other county residents received their summons this past week. If you’d like to see St. Louis County in action, you’re invited to sit in on the hearing on Tuesday, July 28. No reservations are required.

There are currently two lawsuits pending questioning the legality of the waste management program. The first suit is “haulers” Vs St. Louis County in which some of the trash haulers filed suit. The other is Citizens Right to Vote Vs St. Louis County were some county residents filed suit. This suit allows citizens to vote on the regulation.

What happens if Mr. Exer and other residents are found guilty of violation and then the court throws out the waste management program as being illegal. They would have been found guilty of violating an illegal law.

St. Louis County needs to put the brakes on to stop “harassing “ citizens until all decisions are made in the courts. Let’s stop wasting tax money making questionable decisions. If something is wrong with the system, let's correct it.

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