Here's the deal, friends - and I'm not even a big conspiracy theorist, but they've got me going this time... This is what I have learned about how Inspections operates:
First, they "sweep" the area. We're not talking about complaints here. Nope, no brooms either. This "sweep" means they drive by...maybe. They stay in the car and jot down the address of their targets. They enter the target addresses into something that generates form letters which seem to be timed to arrive in citizen mailboxes on Friday afternoons. Before holidays seems to be best. But here's the good part: they don't document anything about the offender's property problem. No notes on some kind of form, no photos. That's right: no notes, no photos. In fact with mine, the inspector said that with 5000 notices going out in that sweep (5000!!!) she couldn't be sure that mine was in fact an offending address; it might be a mistake, but, hey, who's to know. The alleged offence is "NOT APPEALABLE TO THE MINNEAPOLIS HOUSING BOARD OF APPEALS" according to the notice. However, properties that persist in offending will get a visit from the Mpls. All-Star Mowing Enforcers and the bill will be added to the property tax bill for that address.
Now I'm not a super-suspicious kinda gal - I'm such a geeky good government booster - but I gotta wonder about this stuff: drive-by inspections, loosey-goosey details, no notes, no photos, no documentation, no appeals BUT the very real (and arbitrary) risk of substantial additions to my property tax bill. And all this when the City is struggling to make ends meet.
Maybe I'm just feeling a bit put out, but really! First, my (alleged) 8" grass (blades, I admit) and then MacDonald's over-30" handrail. Come on, City! This is how you're spending property tax dollars?
This is like being stoned to death with popcorn.
Ms. Berget/Kingfield
