"Uncovered trashcan" fine at 3AM during high winds.

[boywonder.livejournal.com]

So how hard up is the City of Somerville for cash? So hard-up, it appears, that they issued an "uncovered trashcan" ticket at 3:00AM (yes, that's right, in the middle of the night) DURING a storm in which Somerville was experiencing high winds and rain. You all remember the one from a few nights ago.

My dad/landlord got a ticket in the mail yesterday, including a photograph of a trashcan on the ground with the lid off on the side of the house. Normally, our trashcans are locked tight with their covers, except, apparently, when high winds and rain knock them over. We are going to appeal the ticket. I just think it is outrageous that this was even issued. Trashcans were down all over the neighborhood, as well as roof shingles everywhere, and small to medium branches on the sidewalks and streets, etc.

Did anyone else get this fine or know of anyone else who had? I mean, if the trashcans weren't picked up and it was, say, 11AM, there may be some merit to the ticket. But since it was issued during the middle of the night and during an ongoing storm, it seems really bizarre.

Comments

only applicable if it was placed at the curb for pick up:

[pierceheart.livejournal.com]

Fight it - it's NOT a violation according to the city's own guidelines as published on their webpage:

http://www.somervillema.gov/spotlight.cfm?id=7

* While stored on your property, all trash must now be held in a waterproof & airtight container with a lid.
* Trash put out for pickup must remain in a container, but does not need to be covered. We encourage residents to remove lids before bringing trash to the curb in order to prevent loss or damage.
* Trash storage containers may not exceed 50 lbs when full.
* Times you may put out your trash remain the same: trash may be placed out for pickup no earlier than 4:00 p.m. on the day before trash collection and no later than 7:00 a.m. the day of trash collection.

Hell, from the brochure (http://www.somervillema.gov/CoS_Content/documents/Trash%20Brochurefinal.pdf):

Do I need to keep the barrel covered when I
place it out for collection?
No. We encourage you to remove the
lids prior to placing your barrels out
for collection.

Re: only applicable if it was placed at the curb for pick up:

[fangirl715.livejournal.com]

This isn't what I understood--I've always tried to keep the garbage can covered when it's sitting by my door, but Rose (landlady) called a few months back to say she'd been fined by the city because the lid wasn't on it when I put it out for collection--and I'd taken the lid off precisely BECAUSE the trash collectors would lose it/mangle it/etc. (Between having cans outright stolen or so badly damaged they've been unusable, I'm not terribly fond of the trash collectors these days; and I don't even bother to get a recycling bin any more, as those always disappear, even when my address is on them. Then again, that latter one may be the neighbors...) It sounds as if the City needs to make sure its enforcers understand the regulations as they've been given to the public, and/or stop letting/encouraging said enforcers to ticket illegally, because what they're doing now is flat out WRONG.

Re: only applicable if it was placed at the curb for pick up:

[pierceheart.livejournal.com]

t sounds as if the City needs to make sure its enforcers understand the regulations as they've been given to the public

You think?

These are the same enforcers who ticketed someone before the four hour window to move cars had expired. (http://community.livejournal.com/davis_square/2046081.html?thread=23975041#t23975041)

Re: only applicable if it was placed at the curb for pick up:

[fangirl715.livejournal.com]

Sorry, didn't mean to sound like a complete idiot--I was thinking more along the lines of assuming them to be "really clueless" as opposed to "outright greedy & malicious." Based on other posters' experiences/reactions, though, it's sounding a lot more like the latter than the former. *sigh*