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Council discusses tougher enforcement, higher fines and streamlined notices for property maintenance violations
Summary
Struthers councilmembers debated raising the fee for city grass-cutting service to $250, reducing or removing mailed notice requirements, and strengthening administrative fines and enforcement against negligent landlords and bank-owned properties; staff were asked to prepare a resolution and reports on citations and collections.
Councilmember Megan led an extended discussion on property maintenance enforcement, urging the city to increase fines, streamline notice procedures and pursue delinquent accounts that create blight.
Megan said letters previously sent had not produced follow-through and proposed raising the city’s grass-cutting fee to $250 and eliminating the repeated 7‑day mailed-letter requirement for subsequent violations. She told the committee, “I don't want this to keep reoccurring. We are now responsible for it. You will now get billed for it,” and urged stricter enforcement against bank-owned and absentee-owner properties while being mindful of elderly or disabled residents who need assistance.
Staff and council members reviewed language from the current ordinance and administrative-citation amounts as recited at the meeting (the transcript recited $100 for a first violation and larger amounts for repeat violations). Members discussed using administrative fines (assessed and then placed on real-estate tax bills if unpaid) rather than court prosecutions to speed enforcement, while noting limitations for out-of-state owners and the county’s role in tax foreclosure. Council asked staff to provide: a) a resolution to set the grass-cutting fee, b) a report on administrative citations and collections (who has been fined and what has been paid), and c) clarification on how citations are currently issued without the iWORKS system.
No ordinance or resolution was adopted at the meeting; councilmembers agreed to draft a resolution to set fees and to follow up with reports and recommended operational changes.
