The active enforcement of any municipal code of rules should be simple and straightforward. And there should be no toleration for a lack of enforcement of any part of the code. Unfortunately, this is too often not the case in Hudson. Just take a walk in any of our alleys.
Taken together, sections 7 and 8 of chapter 157 of the Hudson City Code state the following: CONTAINERS OF GARBAGE AND REFUSE SHALL BE SET OUT FOR COLLECTION BY THE OCCUPANT OF PREMISES... NOT EARLIER THAN 7:00 PM OF THE DAY PRECEDING COLLECTION DAY.
Section 12 of the chapter, titled Penalties For Offense, is equally clear: Any person committing an offense against any provision of this chapter shall be guilty of a violation punishable as follows: by a prison term not exceeding 15 days, by a fine not exceeding $250, by a sentence of community service or restitution or by a combination thereof. The continuation of an offense against the provisions of this chapter shall constitute, for each day the offense is continued, a separate and distinct offense hereunder.
Those so-called rules are an absolute meaningless joke.
(It's telling that in all of Chapter 157, titled Garbage, Rubbish and Refuse -- make up your mind, will you, please! -- there is not one mention of the city's blue garbage bags. There are plenty of references to garbage in "containers," but nothing about bags of any kind. That's how outdated the City Code is. Straight out of the 1970's. Or 1920's, before plastic bags were a thing.)
DPW collects full blue garbage bags put out for collection on Mondays and Tuesdays, meaning that any blue bag full of garbage that is set out between Tuesday afternoon and Sunday afternoon is a code violation. Doing so is a ticketable offense (and, to me, a simple one to handle) only ticketable by Craig Haigh's Code Enforcement Office. But the sight of blue bag code violations on any day of the week is an increasingly common sight in our alleys, week after week after week, proving that Rob Perry and Craig Haigh don't give a damn when anyone places a blue bag full of garbage in an alley (or, to a lesser extent at the curb of a street). It is painfully clear that the situation has gotten out of hand lately. Of course, if Rob Perry and Craig Haigh don't care that so many people are ignoring the city code, they also don't care how many blue bags full of garbage get ripped into by vermin, spreading trash around (including food waste) and making a mess for DPW to clean up (or not).
On a recent Friday afternoon, I counted 15 blue bags full of garbage in Cherry Alley, all of them above 4th Street. Four alley blocks, 15 bags, 3 days prior to collection. One property had 7 bags out, two of which had been ripped into by vermin. That same property -- where DPW garbage collection takes place on Mondays -- regularly places their bags full of garbage out as early as Wednesdays. This is fucking ridiculous. It's one thing for residents to not know -- or to ignore! -- the rules (thus the City Code, the Code Enforcement Office and enforcement of the code, thank you very much!!!), but an entirely different and deeply concerning thing for the powers-that-be (primarily CEO and DPW) to decide not to enforce the City Code. That's failure on a much larger, more unacceptable scale. Failure that we all pay to allow to continue.
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| Saturday, September 20th, 3 days prior to DPW garbage collection in Rope Alley. This is a common sight, with bags either ripped into or waiting to be. |
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| This past Tuesday afternoon, more than 24 hours AFTER Monday's collection, and 6 days BEFORE NEXT Monday's collection. 6 fucking days and nights! |
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| Ditto above |
Is anyone supervising Rob Perry and Craig Haigh to ensure they are doing their jobs by enforcing the rules so that our city is run properly and doesn't look like shit while attracting vermin of all types? Isn't the mayor of Hudson, at least on paper, their supervisor (or superior, if you will)? If the powers that be can't even do something as simple as write code violation tickets to blatant code violators regarding something so conspicuous as trash in our alleys (or even acknowledge the problem exists), what can we expect them to do for us at all, if anything?
Rob Perry is well aware of his own department's garbage collection rules, isn't he? Craig Haigh is well aware of chapter 157 of the City Code, isn't he? The mayor cares what his city looks like and how much litter it has, even in the alleys, doesn't he?
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| On a Friday in August |
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| Ditto above |
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| On a recent Saturday |
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| Friday, the day prior, same location |
All the pictures you see here were taken on days well before scheduled DPW garbage collection days that everyone is supposed to be aware of and abide by. The situation -- particularly in the 500 block of Cherry Alley and, generally, loose discards all over the city -- is not getting better or remaining the same. It is getting worse the more City Hall continues to ignore the problem. It's almost as if the fine folks in City Hall prefer that no one needs to live by rules or the City Code and that we all need to live in a dump. A dump full of litter and well-fed rats, squirrels, skunks and who knows what else.
When was the last time you saw the DPW crew of two maintenance workers on foot with litter pickers and buckets in hand doing their best to keep our sidewalks, streets and alleys free of litter? Like my most recent sighting, was it about two years ago?
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| Wednesday in the 500 block of Cherry Alley. 2 days after collection and 5 days before collection. |
Wouldn't it be helpful if somewhere on or near the fucking garbage bag vending machine in front of City Hall there was a conspicuous sign meant for all purchasers of blue bags reminding them when they can and cannot put full bags of garbage out for collection, even in the alleys? The top of the sign should read, WARNING! YOU FACE A $250 FINE IF YOU PLACE YOUR GABRABGE OUT TOO EARLY FOR COLLECTION. PLEASE BE RESPONSIBLE AND RESPECTFUL OF YOUR NEIGHBORS. HERE ARE THE RULES YOU MUST FOLLOW TO AVOID BEING TICKETED... Shouldn't it?
If no one at City Hall is interested in enforcing the rules related to blue garbage bags put out for collection, then what choice do we have but to see the problem worsen? If your neighbor puts their blue bag full of garbage out back of their house regularly on a Wednesday, Thursday, Friday or Saturday, why wouldn't you feel that you shouldn't do the same? And why wouldn't other neighbors follow suit? Heck, there's no consequence for doing so, even if your bags of garbage get torn into and strewn all over. DPW doesn't care, and they just might clean up your mess for you!
If the Hudson Police Department won't (can't?) enforce the speed limit in town, why do you think the problem has gotten worse of late?
This morning, inches from a busy sidewalk and 4 days prior to
DPW garbage bag collection. Across the street from the
busy DMV office and other county offices. Across the alley
from a county parking lot and the Saturday farmers market,
for all to see. A city clearly in decline with no one managing
obvious quality-of-life issues and code violations.
More than anything, the lack of enforcement of the code regarding garbage (from both DPW and Code Enforcement) shows a serious lack of respect for the residents of Hudson. Someone needs to figure out where that disrespect is coming from and get rid of it. NOW! The rules laid out in a municipal code are meant to create a livable, respectable, safe and civil community. If any of those rules are allowed to be ignored because there is no enforcement of them, we can't expect a livable, respectable, safe or civil Hudson, can we?
Is it fair to expect a mayor to put an end to this nonsense within six years of being in City Hall while supposedly managing the city?
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