Whenever any litter, or part thereof, upon private property and private property contiguous to a street or sidewalk or public place, and is removed by the Municipality then after the work is done, the Municipality shall give five days' notice by regular mail, to the owner of such lot or parcel of land, at his last known address, to pay the cost of such litter removal or parts thereof, which notice shall be accompanied by a statement of the amount of cost incurred, and in the event the same is not paid within thirty days after the mailing of such notice, then the amount shall be certified to the County Auditor for collection the same as other taxes and assessments are collected.
(a) Failure to Comply with Notice. Upon failure to comply with the notice in this subsection within the prescribed time for the removal of litter, the Director of Public Service shall immediately notify the Service Department of the location of said lands and the Service Department or an outside vendor if the need arises may remove the litter.
(b) Costs.
(1) The Director of Public Service shall keep accurate record of the cost of such litter removal and shall immediately cause to be sent to the proper person as required by Ohio R.C. 731.53 a statement for such cost of the litter removal which shall be immediately due and payable.
(2) The minimum fee to be charged shall be in no case less than one hundred and five dollars ($105.00) per employee for the first hour or portion thereof; said one hundred and five dollars ($105.00) per employee for each additional hour or portion thereof and any associated costs.
(3) A second notice of payment due may be sent not later than the 30th day after the litter removal bill is sent and not paid which shall be immediately due and payable.
(4) All payments received shall be credited to the General Fund, but no payments shall be accepted after the certification to the County Auditor as hereinafter provided.
(c) Certification to County Auditor of Unpaid Cost for Litter Removal for Lien Upon Property. Not later than October 15 of each year the Director of Public Service shall make written return to the Auditor of Trumbull County of its actions under this section and Ohio R.C. 731.51 and 731.53 with a statement of the charges for its services, the amount paid for the performing of such labor as certified by the Director of Public Service, the fees for officers who made the service and notice of return and a proper description of the premises. Said return to the County Auditor shall be for the purpose of having said amounts entered upon the tax duplicate as a lien upon said lands in accord with the provisions of Ohio R.C. 731.54.
(d) This section does not apply to land being used under a municipal building or construction permit or license, a municipal permit or license, or a conditional zoning permit or variance to operate a junk yard, scrap metal processing facility, or similar businesses, or a permit or license issued pursuant to Chapter 3734., sections 4737.05 to 4737.12, or Chapter 6111. of the Revised Code.
(e) Penalty. It is hereby determined that the accumulation of litter upon lands within the City not only poses a harmful or injurious threat to the health or physical well-being of the inhabitants of the City but also poses a significant safety hazard and that anyone who violates this section, in addition to the assessment of costs for failure to comply with proper notice, shall be guilty of a minor misdemeanor.
(Ord. 0-51-22. Passed 10-17-22.)