Council refers chapter 40U fine-collection options to Finance Committee after staff overview

City staff told the Cambridge City Council on Sept. 29 that Massachusetts General Law chapter 40U offers a modernized enforcement tool that could make it easier to collect unpaid municipal fines for code and public-health violations. The council referred the matter to the Finance Committee for further study.

Councilor Jivan Nolan (transcript: Nolan), who pulled the item, said the council had heard repeatedly that it is difficult to collect municipal fines from property owners and that stronger, administratively efficient tools could improve compliance on issues like snow-and-ice clearing, dumpster violations and rodent-control enforcement. Staff from the City Solicitor’s Office, the Department of Public Works, Inspectional Services, and Finance explained operational steps that would be needed to adopt a 40U-style process, including ordinance amendments, adoption of fee schedules, thresholds for triggering enhanced enforcement, and cross-department coordination.

Deputy Commissioner Jacob Lazaro (Inspectional Services) said existing enforcement focuses on engagement and correction first; fines are a last resort, and many fines become unresolved because of administrative limits. The staff presentation outlined possible thresholds (dollar amounts, number/frequency of violations) that would trigger administrative appeals rather than immediate court action.

Councilors asked about the scale of unpaid fines and the operational cost of implementing a 40U system. Staff said internal reporting improvements are needed to get precise unpaid-fine totals and that implementation would require staff time and coordination. On motion of the council the report was placed on file and referred to the Finance Committee for more detailed ordinance language and cost estimates; the referral passed by roll call (8–0, one absent).