Pagedale, MO – Are Citizens the ATM for the City? An Ethics Question

While I am sure Pagedale, Missouri has been a nice community in which to live, I am not so certain I would want to live there now. Seems that the need for revenue is out pacing the ethical application of laws. This raises an ethics question and is a story about what happens when citizens allow politicians to rule rather than the other way around.

In an article by Brooke Singman for FoxNews.com (December 28, 2015) entitled: “City’s ‘nitpicky’ fines for tree stumps, blinds trigger civil rights lawsuit,” we are made aware of a new trend where, as Ms. Singman explains, citizens are being used as ATMs.

So no one accuses me of Pagedale-bashing, the trend of using the citizenry like ATM’s to pay for city short-falls appears to be growing nationwide. In terms of Pagedale specifically:

According to the article:

“Pagedale now considers it illegal for residents to have basketball hoops in their driveways, dog houses on their front lawn, uncut grass, overgrown gardens and fallen tree limbs. That’s not all – city inspectors even judge interior design decisions. Another plaintiff said she was cited for mismatched curtains and not having blinds in every window, according to Watchdog.org.”

Apparently, overly aggressive enforcement police have issued tickets by an increase of nearly 500 percent.

“This is a common ‘policing for profit’ scheme that we see across the country—governments using their citizens as ATMs,” states the article. “The city is so financially dependent, and because of that dependency, they have an incentive to find nitpicky violations and convict people for them.”

Can anyone reading this post imagine receiving a citation for mismatched curtains, under filled recycle bins, a tree stump in the front yard or chipped paint on your home? Such violations have recently been “awarded” in Pagedale.

“Nearly 18 percent of Pagedale’s budget is income from municipal court revenue – property and miscellaneous fines – just second to the city’s sales tax.”

Of course, Pagedale Mayor Mary Louise Carter said when reached by Fox News, “that the fines have ‘nothing to do with driving up revenue’ and “everything to do with making the properties code compliant and safe.”

I am mystified to understand how mismatched curtains or an under filled recycle bin have anything to do with making a neighborhood safe. This disconnect between those bureaucrats who suck up the revenues and those taxpayers who pay for the operations of cities like Pagedale, is an illustration of bad ethics in action.

Code Compliance is What We Make It

The citizens of Pagedale are bringing a lawsuit against the town for some of these ridiculous citations, and predictably the city attorneys want to have the case dismissed. Well, why wouldn’t they? They are feeding from the same unethical trough.

The city is now threatening to bulldoze those properties where the repairs and code violations have not been made. It is easy for the politicians to levy more fines and penalties; they have jobs, many of those whose homes are in bad shape have no money at all.

I would assume that over time cities across America have placed hundreds, if not thousands of code violations on their books. There were possibly outdated or unreasonable reasons for some of these violations. Instead of taking these laws off the books, they were kept in reserve.

While it may be true that some of the properties that are occupied have serious violations they are not necessarily unsafe; they just fail to meet the codes of aesthetics.

From an ethical standpoint, there seem to be several possible solutions. The first is community involvement. For those homeowners whose occupied properties are threatened with the wrecking ball, why not mobilize the entire community to volunteer to help? I have done such volunteer work and it is very rewarding. Have an “enforcement officer” on site to sign off on every violation that has been fixed.

The second suggestion is to organize local citizens to have periodic inspections of the homes of all elected politicians. I would never suggest this as an act of harassment, just as an even application of justice. It would be expected that if an official’s home has a violation that the official would pay the same fine.

Third, perhaps the city needs to dial it back. There are violations, and then there are violations. If a home is missing blinds, for example is it really necessary to issue a summons? A broken sewerage pipe or a front lawn with four foot tall grass might earn a summons, but can’t there be a little judgment applied?

Something is missing here, and it is compassion. Nothing is accomplished by fining people who cannot afford it. No one is served. It is an ethical failure.

YOUR COMMENTS ARE WELCOME!