Just for your own information, the City just 2 weeks ago has now decided to
use "administrative" fines instead of the costly criminal prosecutions that
they have used for many years.
Thanks Steven- it's good to see the city has started to come to it's senses!
The smallest fine will be $200 and will escalate from there up to $2,000.
Now if the city really wants to get sensible, they'd reduce the fines by the amount the homeowner spends on fixing the problem, except for maybe a hundred dollars or so for administrative costs.
If you do not pay the fine, it will be
assessed on to your taxes along with an additional administrative fee. Only
the very worst housing code violations (safety items) will continue to be
prosecuted.
Again, the city is starting to respond to reality- locking up old folks for petty cosmetic offenses is not going to encourage them to stay here. By the same measure the city must respond vigorously to truly dangerous stuff like gas leaks and electrical shorts.
So Dyna, you are in luck. You won't go to jail, but you might end up broke!
Sadly, that is still the problem- the cost of living in Minneapolis is still way higher than the competition.
Dyna writes:
So Don, if you want to keep me here I suggest you start by sponsoring a
resolution telling the city attorney to cease filing criminal charges
against citizens for violation of a civil law, the housing code. Failing
that, I'm still shopping for a home outside Minneapolis.
Dennis responds:
In lieu of getting a new ordinance passed, would you stay if your problem
were resolved?
Of course I would- as I said the criminal prosecution for peeling paint was my "tipping point". However, with the city yet to install the curb cut for my driveway they should have a decade ago, the NRP deferred home improvement loans that disappeared, no home insurance available due to redlining, and the five figure cost of a new furnace from our city's gas monopoly I may not be able to afford to invest much in my most humble Minneapolis abode.
your fugitive from (in)justice in Hawthorne,
Dyna Sluyter
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