The City of Poughkeepsie Common Council will be considering ways to strengthen the sanitation code at its next meeting on Sept. 4, and among the measures being discussed is a proposal to hit repeat offenders – titans of trash, if you will – with a $100 fine. That’s an excellent step in continuing to clean up the city, which is among the most daunting tasks faced by those who hope to return Poughkeepsie to its “Queen City” glory.
Trash is, after all, a prime nuisance in almost any city, and Poughkeepsie does as good a job as most at managing unsightly properties, overgrown yards and piles of rubbish. But no matter how hard city workers try, violations can’t help but slip through the cracks. Seemingly minor issues, like garbage cans left at the curb too long or an overgrowth of weeds at the corner of a yard, may seem like minor offenses to a property owner, and compared to the serious crime that still threatens the city, that line of thinking isn’t necessarily faulty.
But those minor issues – keeping flower beds clean, sidewalks swept and garbage out of the way – are key to quality of life, and that’s a part of the city that must be targeted if Poughkeepsie is going to keep to the path of regrowth that’s been set for it. Although it’s probably too idealistic to continue to demand that people take pride in the city around them, absentee landlords – especially in rooming houses and other properties that can spawn mess – along with crime and violence, no minor issues – must be held accountable for the property they own.
The current system – in which a city worker posts a citation on a property, giving the property owner a five-to-six day grace period, after which the city does the work and bills the landlord – works to keep the problems largely under control, but a more proactive system – beginning with the aforementioned fines for repeat offenders – would be an welcome decision.
In much the same way as a house can’t be built until a foundation is laid, the city won’t be able address issues of crime, poverty and rising taxes until its streets are clean. The look of the city affects the behavior of its denizens, and for those traveling though or eyeing Poughkeepsie as a possible recreational destination, the absence of extra trash and the sight of clean sidewalks is essential to the city’s appeal. Putting some teeth into the existing sanitation law, by adding increased fines and gradually strengthening measures against offenders, will both keep the city on a path of improvement and lighten the load on city workers, freeing them to continue on projects that also benefit the city.
But whatever measures are enacted, property owners must bear the burden of maintaining their land, and the city must find a way to effectively regulate that. Any step taken in that direction is a positive one for the city.