Not a single trash fine has been issued since the updated ordinance went into effect.
No citations have been issued under the updated Athens trash ordinance — at least, not yet.
The new ordinance, which was passed by Athens City Council in December of 2014, requires all trash cans in Athens to be kept out of sight with higher fines for first time offenders.
“At this point it has been all educational and informational,” John Paszke, director of Athens City Code Enforcement, said in an email. “This change of law we hope will become a cultural shift throughout town over the course of the year.”
Athens Mayor Paul Wiehl said the initial fine for first time offenses of the ordinance has gone up from $20 to $50, which he called a “good chunk of money.” Subsequent offenses jump to $75, $100, $125, and then $150 for the fifth and any additional offenses.
In his email, Paszke listed 33 Athens streets with residents that had already been informed of the new law.
“Are there those that are still in violation? Yes, but that likely means that our office has yet to get to them,” Paszke said.
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However, Wiehl said some of the streets that were considered “educated” in mid-August were informed before many students had moved into their homes for the 2015-16 academic year.
These students, along with all other Athens residents are still “subject to a violation if not in compliance” with the ordinance, even though other streets are still being educated, Paszke said.
“I would hesitate to pull that trigger without some education phase,” Wiehl said.“The intention is to have a dialogue, give people a warning. We want to give everyone a grace period. We want to make sure at least everyone is aware.”
The six-month period between adoption of ordinances and their implementation is intended for citizens to become acquainted with the new law, Wiehl said. That period ended in July 2015 when the law went into effect.
“The (educational period) was actually two fold: one is to get a benchmark of what would happen and two to find how many people were not in compliance,” Wiehl said. “(Now) this one has the force of law.”
In the months leading up to the ordinance’s passage, it became evident that many people were not in compliance.
Within a four-day period in October 2014, city code officers were issuing 100 warnings a day, according to a previous Post report.
But Wiehl said sometime in October this year there will be no more warnings.
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“There is no set date or timeframe for that to occur,” Paszke said.
Councilwoman Chris Fahl, D-4th Ward, who was the author of the ordinance said new codes always have a period of learning.
“Because of the cyclical nature of people moving in-and-out, it might make sense,” Fahl said of the second education period.
“We have to do a grace period so people can get their trash cans out of sight,” Wiehl said. “There is an out. There is a clause in there about the service-safety director giving a waiver.”
The ordinance itself does not describe the application process to obtain a waiver, other than it is through “written application.”
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