The city of Springfield, Massachusetts is poised to increase the maximum fine for illegal dumping.
Raising the maximum fine from $300 to $500 for illegally disposing of such things as tires, mattresses, and large appliances was recommended by an advisory group on combating litter that was convened by City Councilor Victor Davila.
“This will send a clear message to those knuckleheads out there that we take the cleanliness of our city seriously and we also take our environment very seriously,” Davila said.
A proposed ordinance to increase the financial penalties for illegal dumping was introduced by Davila and City Councilor Mike Fenton and was given unanimous initial approval by the full City Council at a meeting last month.
“We are not going after the person who throws a wrapper on the floor,” Davila stressed. “We are talking about the large bulk items.”
Davila said his research found that both Boston and Worcester have a maximum fine of $1,000 for illegal dumping.
“We thought $500 is a clear message and a good compromise,” he said.
Citing pervasive problems with illegal dumping in the neighborhoods they represent, City Councilors Lavar Click-Bruce of Ward 5 and Maria Perez of Ward 1 asked to sign on as co-sponsors of the ordinance.
“I have a particular street, which I will not disclose, that has been a dump site for many years here in the North End and it is people who are hired to take junk from a house and they just dump it on that particular street,” Perez said.
Mayor Domenic Sarno hailed the vote by the Council, saying his administration takes the problem of illegal dumping very seriously.
“The message has to be sent that we don’t want your illegal dumping anywhere,” Sarno said. “It is detriment to the city and to the neighborhoods.”
For years, the city has used motion-activated hidden cameras to combat illegal dumping. The cameras document the incidents and record vehicle license plates so that police can investigate and issue criminal complaints.
“When we do catch these deplorable individuals, we make an example of them – we publicize it, we show their photos,” Sarno said. “Sometimes they are Springfield residents. Many times they are from out-of-town and I am not going to allow them to come dump in our city.”
As a further deterrent, the city reports to the state’s Registry of Motor Vehicles the names of people who have not paid an illegal dumping fine. The RMV is empowered to deny a driver’s license or vehicle registration renewal because of unpaid fines.
The involvement of the RMV concerned City Councilor Zaida Govan, who said it threatens a person’s livelihood and by doing so perpetuates a cycle of poverty.
“It just reminds me of what I have said in the past that it is very expensive to be poor,” she said.
With the ordinance gaining first-step approval, it automatically goes to a City Council committee where it could be amended before returning to the full Council for a final vote.
Springfield’s Department of Public Works will pick up and dispose of bulk household items such as old air conditioners, furniture, and carpeting for a charge of $8 per item. That price has not changed in 16 years.
