June 11, 2019 – Hartford, WI – It should surprise most people that there is a significant amount of tax dollars spent on employee time just making sure residents follow local health and safety ordinances. Shoveling sidewalks in winter, and keeping grass cut in summer are two of the biggies. Both of these are necessary issues to help keep our community clean and safe.
While 95% of people who move into any home understand that it all comes with the responsibility to keep up their property, there are those 5% who neglect these basic responsibilities. The result is that their neighbors, who do try to make their neighborhood look nice, and maintain the largest investment that they will ever make, will call City Hall or the City Garage and complain that their neighbors are not performing the very basic maintenance procedures. Because there are laws that prohibit uncut grass (in every community) the city staff then need to review these properties and go through the legal means to get these properties in compliance.
This Spring, we have had a very fast growing season. The cooler temps and consistent rains are both helping grass grow tall this year. This means that lawns need to be cut to keep them in compliance.
Please do your part and help maintain the look of not only your home, but the entire neighborhood. By taking pride in your property, you are not only maintaining the appearance of your biggest asset, but you are keeping your area safe. If maintaining your property has become a physical impossibility, look to hire a property maintenance company or just the kid in the neighborhood. I remember in my younger years making a few dollars every week mowing lawns of seniors.
Likewise, when you cut your lawn, make sure not to blow grass into the streets. Our storm water catch basins need to stay clear to properly remove water from our streets. When grass and weeds clog these up, it not only causes a safety issue to drivers, it demands more of your tax dollars to be spent cleaning them out. Plus, the chemicals on lawns end up in our storm sewers and eventually into our lakes, rivers and streams. In the end, more of your tax dollars (Federal & State) are spent by the DNR and other environmental agencies in cleaning these up.
Finally, as a biker, having cut grass on roads make it a safety hazard for anyone on two tires. Please do your part and keep our neighborhood’s safe, clean and maintained so we can all take pride in where we live.
Every month, it is my goal to give you information on things going on inside of City Hall.
