Council denies spot-fine profit
A NEW blitz on litter and dog mess is about improving the environment, not raising money from residents, council chiefs have insisted.
Stoke-on-Trent City Council has ordered its team of 40 civil enforcement and neighbourhood impact officers to fine on sight anyone spotted dropping litter, or allowing their dogs to foul pavements.
The zero-tolerance approach, which was unveiled yesterday, follows a two-year period in which the council has tried to educate residents and visitors to keep the city clean.
But the authority says the state of the streets is now so bad that drastic action is needed.
The council is warning residents that, from now on, they can expect a £50 on-the-spot fixed penalty if seen littering or dog fouling.
Failure to pay up within 14 days will trigger a magistrate court summons, leading to a fine of up to £2,500 on conviction.
In the past two years, just 147 of the fines have been imposed as officers have favoured stern warnings over financial penalties, but that figure is expected to soar with the new approach.
The council stated in recent budget papers that it wanted to generate an extra £200,000 in revenue from fines this year.
But the council's portfolio holder for community safety and neighbourhood management, councillor Joan Bell, insisted money was not the motive for the crackdown and that no targets will be set.
She said: "We have given people two years of education about these issues and tried to make them more responsible about litter.
"But at the same time we are using taxpayers' money to clean the streets and employing extra litter collectors to deal with the problem.
"It is a minority of people who are responsible for the mess, but it is a problem that really irritates the majority of people in the city."
Local services manager John Deakin said that the tougher enforcement approach would initially focus on litter hotspots across the council's five neighbourhood areas.
He said: "For the last two years we have been asking people to pick their rubbish up and warning them that they could face a fine for dropping litter.
"There will be no warning from now on – people will just get a fine, and if they don't pay it within 14 days we can take them to court."
14 Comments
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by Harry, Stoke
Friday, May 01 2009, 10:26PM
“Here we go again! Started off OK then the Council bashers descend and lose sight of the real story. Fact - a sizeable number of people in the city think it is OK to chuck rubbish, leave dog dirt etc for someone else to sort out. We complain that the place looks a mess, then complain if something is done about it. Professional moaners half of you, who could actually spend your time better if you volunteered to do a bit of litter clearing but, of course, you just complain don't you rather than actually do anything constructive.”
by stokie, trentham
Friday, May 01 2009, 7:09PM
“this is one of the very few council schemes that i actually agree with- it costs council taxes payers a fortune to clear up after litter louts, it poses a danger to wildlife, and it makes our area a more unpleasant place to live or work. why shouldnt they make the ones they catch pay for the clean-ups instead of the taxpayer? this city would be so much nicer without graffittii, vandalism and litter. some of this money should be spent providing more litter bins and dog bins, especially along the canals etc. as there are plenty of notices telling you to pick up, and then nowhere to put it when you do pick up!”
by Warren, Stoke on Trent
Friday, May 01 2009, 5:57PM
“I want the job of dishing the fines out, payment, a 10% cut of the proffits, with just Longton, I'd be a very rich man indeed. Biggels, its me mate, what area do you fancy on the same arangment.”
by Chris, Newstead
Friday, May 01 2009, 5:35PM
“May i suggest some of the council enforcement officers stand outside the civic offices in Kingsway Stoke they would make a fortune handing out fines to some of Cllr Bells Labour friends who after finishing there fag insist on throwing it to the floor. There is a saying practice what they preach.”
by fed up of sot council, Longton
Friday, May 01 2009, 4:17PM
“Iam a dog owner and it simple pick u dog mess up when u are walking it.
Mind i beggars belief you can believe anything this council says seeing how corrupt it is and that not me it what the police are saying after the arrests.”
by John, Newcastle
Friday, May 01 2009, 1:28PM
“"40 civil enforcement and neighbourhood impact officers." What a title and a complete waste of rate payers money. Of course this Zero Tolerance approach is to raise money. Are these "Enforcement Officers" instructed to catch enough people to cover their wages.”
by Steven, Longton
Friday, May 01 2009, 12:24PM
“Forty staff, 147 fines, in TWO years???
That's 1.84 fines per person per year.
It isn't a change of policy that's needed, it's a change of staff. Sack the lot of the bone idle beggars and start again!!!”
by Biggles, Up, up and away.
Friday, May 01 2009, 12:22PM
“For those wondering about whether this is being done for profit, think about the cost of this huge no. of people. The salaries of these 40 staff alone are in excess of £1million, at £50 per ticket that¿s 20,000 tickets they¿d have to issue to break even, an inrease of about 19,800 on last year¿s performance. No, it isn¿t about profit, not when Empire Building continues at this scale.
When Stoke was held up as the example for how to deal with littering and flytipping, the section responsible had 3 staff and between them they issued more tickets and carried out many more prosecutions than this lot.
It¿s not about profit, it isn¿t even value for money, it¿s sheer bloody waste, yet again.”
by Lizzie, Newcastle
Friday, May 01 2009, 11:49AM
“Oh no Ian, Meir - you will get a whole bunch of cat crusaders defending their pets right to crap anywhere and everywhere after your comment. They will also trot out the old chestnut 'they only do it in their own garden/cat litter'.”
by E, Stoke-on-Trent
Friday, May 01 2009, 11:45AM
“Well said Ian. Dog and Cat mess is a nuisance and more owners should be fined.”