Henry County commissioners outline enforcement plan for mud-and-debris ordinance after resident complaints

At a March 12 meeting, the Henry County Board of Commissioners said they will centralize enforcement of a recently passed ordinance addressing mud and debris on county roads and accept complaints through the commissioners’ office rather than through deputies or other departments.

The board’s chair told farmers and residents the intent of the ordinance is not to stop agricultural work but to address repeated complaints that mud and other debris have created traffic hazards. “It is a crying shame that the complaint level has risen,” the chair said, adding the board would appoint weights-and-measures and health-department staff to carry out enforcement actions and that law enforcement or the county attorney would be involved only if conflicts arise.

The ordinance was drafted to make property owners and the parties who deposit material on roads responsible when conditions create a hazard. Joel, who worked on the draft language, said the goal was to avoid situations of finger-pointing and to treat the issue as a property-condition matter: “I just wanted to make it like any other property condition type issue where the owner is ultimately responsible for it.”

Farmer David Kiesling of northwest Henry County told the board his operation hauls material onto roads during tomato harvesting and expressed concern that the ordinance’s liability language could expose farmers to civil claims years later. “A big part of that concern is with the item number 2 here, which says reliable,” Kiesling said, adding that seasonal operations sometimes make cleanup difficult.

Commissioners said they can amend the ordinance language and encouraged affected farmers to meet with them. One commissioner noted the draft already included a focus on conditions that “create a hazard to vehicles or persons on the road,” and that routine, transient farming residue should not be treated as a violation. The chair reiterated that complaints will be screened by the commissioners’ office so spurious neighbor disputes do not automatically trigger enforcement.

The board indicated the ordinance includes a warning step before citations and said it could explicitly limit civil liability to situations after a formal citation if members want that change. Commissioners also said the county had escalated the matter after involvement by the health department and state agencies, saying a written policy was needed because the issue had reached state-level attention.

The board invited farmers and residents to propose language changes, and commissioners said the ordinance is amendable. No new formal vote on the ordinance language occurred at the meeting; the board discussed enforcement procedures and next steps.

Ending: Commissioners said they will continue to refine the enforcement process and review suggested language changes; constituents with concerns were invited to contact the commissioners to propose amendments or clarifications.