The county billed the owner, Jerrie Word, $1,348 for work it had done on her property, as well as inspections and late fees. But when Word complained about the charges, county officials dismissed them.
"That's a crying shame," neighbor RobertLester, a retired machinist at McDonnell Douglas, said when he heard the news. "What motivation will she have now to take care of the property if the county's just going to cancel her bill and fines?"
One revenue department employee said that the cancellation of Word's bill could affect the collection of charges on more than 100 other nuisance properties.
County officials, however, downplayed any negative repercussions related to Word's case and denied that they gave her special treatment.
Word's boarded-up frame house at 9809 Jacobi has peeling paint, broken downspouts and vegetation sprouting in the gutters. The grass on the one-acre lot was over a foot high one recent afternoon. Three trees in the front yard were surrounded by weeds several feet tall, as well as tree stumps and limbs.
"It a real eyesore," said another neighbor, Shelunda Gaddy. "People are always dumping their trash there, or their yard waste, or old furniture. It's become a home for mice and rats."
Word, 52, bought the property for $8,000 in March 2008.
"I bought it as an investment property," she said in a recent interview. "I was hoping to make it into a residential home for the elderly, or veterans. But then the economy went south."
Word lives in the 10000 block of Knollcrest Drive, in an unincorporated area of North County, about a mile from the Jacobi property.
Since she bought the Jacobi house, the county has cited her at least 16 times for failing to maintain it. The county also paid contractors to cut Word's grass and to board up the house.
In November 2009, the county billed Word $1,075 for work and inspection fees, plus late fees. The county calls such charges 'special assessment fees." Word paid the first bill. In July, the county billed Word $1,348
(Word was not charged for work that the county did on the property on March 20. On that day, the county used federal funds and volunteers to collect debris from the yard, place it in an industrial trash container and take it to a dump.)
Word balked at the second bill, taking her complaint directly to County Executive Charlie A. Dooley's office. "I stood up for my rights," she said. "The county is harassing me with these charges."
A few days later, Word said, she got good news. "Mr. Dooley had my bill canceled," she said. Word declined further comment.
(More on this story at: http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/article_c90bd6ab-429c-54dd-a50e-45ca27753f3c.html)
A comment from a county resident . . .
This is just more Dooley Dazzle. Dooley and group, enforce county ordinance by convenience and the number of votes it carries.
There are hundreds, if not thousands of Trash Code violations since the new mandatory ordinance went into effect, with little to no enforcement. 25% of the county has OPTed out and is not subject to county enforcement, and many subdivisions and areas are just ignoring the ordinance.
This is just more Dooley Dazzle.
ReplyDeleteDooley and group, enforce county ordinance by convenience and the number of votes it carries.
There are hundreds, if not thousands of Trash Code violations since the new mandatory ordinance went into effect, with little to no enforcement. 25% of the county has OPTed out and is not subject to county enforcement, and many subdivisions and areas are just ignoring the ordinance.
St. Louis County is out of control, and the pilot needs to be grounded.