OSWEGO – Mayor Billy Barlow announced today (Feb. 15) a proposed local law he will bring to the Oswego Common Council for consideration. He proposes to aggressively increase the enforcement, fines and penalties for property maintenance issues such as tall grass, un-shoveled sidewalks, exposed garbage and the tidiness of property visible from city streets.
The local law changes drastically increase fines associated with these violations.
Mayor Barlow also announced in his State of the City address earlier this year a directive to the city code enforcement and law departments to prioritize and expedite the prosecution of these offenses.
“I am proposing this legislation in an effort to reduce neighborhood blight and address some of the most unsightly and reoccurring violations in our community. Passing this legislation will allow the city of Oswego Code Enforcement department to be more proactive in addressing these nuisance violations and by increasing our enforcement and implementing higher fines we hope to prevent these violations from occurring in the first place,” said Mayor Barlow. “After several major snow events this winter we realize we need to be more aggressive with enforcing the clearing of sidewalks after a snowfall as well. This legislation will implement fines for property owners who fail to clear their sidewalks by 7 a.m. the next day following a snowfall ensuring our children can walk to school safely in the morning.”
The proposed legislation increases the fines for property maintenance violations like tall grass, exposed garbage and outdoor use of upholstered furniture from a $100 maximum fine to a $500 maximum fine and additionally implements a fine structure increasing exponentially for every violation.
The fine structure will also be used for enforcing snow removal for sidewalks.
EXISTING – PROPOSED
Value of Work – Surcharge – Previous Violations – Fine Amount
$1 to $99 $100 Zero $75
$100 to $199 $150 One $150
$200 to $299 $200 Two $300
$300+ $250 Three and above $500
“The implementation of this legislation doubles down on our recent code enforcement efforts and will focus specifically on reducing obvious neighborhood blight which negatively impacts our neighborhoods and reduces our home values and quality of life. By pressing property owners, including city landlords, to maintain their property we improve our neighborhoods for all Oswego residents,” Barlow said. “The city of Oswego also must work harder and faster to enforce the clearing of sidewalks so our children can walk to and from school safely. All too often, our children, elderly or disabled community members are forced to walk in the road because sidewalks are not shoveled. By prioritizing these offenses and increasing the penalties we can prevent this from happening and make our community a safer place for everyone.”
Mayor Barlow will propose these amendments to the Oswego Common Council on Tuesday, February 20, at 6:30 p.m. at Oswego City Hall.
He will also request funding for an additional code enforcer position in the code enforcement department.
Discover more from Oswego County Today
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
The city, like Syracuse should start with leading by example on snow removal. Multiple snow falls this year and it took the city up to 3 days to clear the bridges and other busy areas such as 104 heading to price chopper and people were forced into the streets. I’m all for the city looking better and property’s looking nicer but unless the City’s taking care of the City’s properties, I don’t see increasing fines as a complete or real solution. Truly enforce what’s on the books now.
If the city wants more “invitive” looking properties then maybe it’s high-time to work on getting this ridiculous water/sewer rate fiasco dropped back down to a more “sane” level so the citizenry here can afford some landscaping/paint for those who’re unable to do their own yard/house work and for those to be able to buy a new lawn mower/paint brush for those who can do their own yard/house work!….just sayin’
Wow,another distracton from the real issues, some of which are over taxation,poor infrastructure and poverty.
Speaking of water/sewer rates, who’s paying for filling and maintaining privately owned pools I’ve seen all over the city? Is it a flat-rate charge, or meter-reading? I don’t see why a senior couple, should have to pay for people that have pool parties all summer. I’d be glad to pay my fair share, but nothing over my own usage!
I think our city does a great job after a storm! Two days is not out of the question for the bridges and even some of the city owned properties when the City needs to make certain that the necessary roads in front of hospitals/nursing homes/schools, downtown need to be done first. I think some folks need to live somewhere else to see how terrific our DPW really is! Our parks even get their sidewalks done on that third day most often! I can’t deny I am impressed.
I think that pool owners should be metered. That might be the most fair. When you buy a pool or get permitted to build one, that is one of the criteria…Probably not popular, but the most fair! IF you can afford a pool, you can afford to fill it.
However, don’t most pools only get filled once and then ‘maintained’ at much lower levels. How about places that USE a lot of water who DO pay a lot for them like restaurant property owners, etc. THEY already pay!
This mayor is again looking for funds that have been spent! The city itself needs to take care of itself! The city sidewalks are neglected with many people having to walk in the streets. The plows have been few in the last snowfalls. DPW workers upset with the mayor and his appointment of Kells. The city looks like crap, potholes destroying cars, buildings on Bridge st that have been eyesores for the last ? yrs. The rhetoric that is spewed from this mayor is appalling to the taxpayers of this city! The elderly will not have 24 hrs of time to find someone to help in their misery, hell, the city itself can’t and they have people on 24/7. Do the taxpayers of this city a favor…do something! And…start with the foot deep potholes! A frustrated taxpayer!
what is the current city law on sidewalks?
I honestly don’t know and it seems like people who happen to live near a sidewalk (which is city property, right?) shouldn’t be held responsible for failing to perform physical labor on city property …
this is like an additional tax on citizens … in the form of mandated labor
same thing holds true for portions of lawns between sidewalks and roads … the citizen mows the lawn, but that portion of the lawn, I’ve been told, is city property …
not saying people shouldn’t mow or shovel if it’s technically city property … but fining people for failing to mow or shovel city property seems harsh and unjust.
How about the blight on city roads? Route 104 a is a disaster area, perhaps we need a change in the law so that citizens can be compensated by the city for costly front end alignments and tire repairs due to road neglect. Mr.Mayor needs to get his own house in order before coming after ours.
agree w/ Wendy …
The roads in general are a disaster and should be treated as such … mayor should declare road conditions a state of emergency and find a way to pave ALL the roads … just a massive paving project …
our cars are being destroyed.
Barlow has paved some roads, and deserves some credit … but a band aid on a gaping wound isn’t gonna cut it …
every year, I watch the summer pass with no paving and then right at the end of summer a few streets are done … just pave all summer, start the day school ends (if not sooner) and go until the weather won’t allow it anymore …
if the issue is $, we do have large corporations in the region which escape proper taxation … we all live under the cloud of potential nuclear disaster and yet those companies don’t even pay regular taxes … but that’s where the Republican affiliation of Barlow and other city managers blocks progress … Barclay, Ritchie, all Republican politicians in the region, are in the pockets of the ownership class … we need representation that puts people first.
Wendy, I agree with you. The only thing this mayor is doing is making money for himself…with some going to the “Friends of Barlow,” in the form of favors and hires. The roads are a hazard, and the mayor boasts about the repairs done, unbelievable! He is in this for his own benefit, not us taxpayers. It’s all about filling his safe. He has been brought up in a ‘cash only homelife’ and it is hurting theirs city and the ones that have lived here their entire lives. It is said that Oswego will not be awarded the money earmarked for repairs, so it is now time again to come up with a reason to grab more money from those who have already been taken advantage of by this city administration. Barlow needs to go!