The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
The City of Flin Flon takes flack for a lot of decisions, but getting tough shouldn't be one of them. The past few years have seen a welcome crackdown of sorts on citizens convinced that the rules of our fair community don't apply to them. Recently, city council voted to place an interest rate on the approximately $200,000 worth of overdue bills not related to taxes or utility fees. Moreover, the municipality is willing to go the legal route Ð if it must Ð to get back the cash, which stems from things such as lease contracts and hall and equipment rentals. Before that, there were efforts to try and secure some of the $130,000-plus still owed from parking meters. Warning letters and even vehicle impoundment were the methods applied. Combined, over $330,000 is owed on non-tax, non-utility bills and parking tickets. The next time you bottom out in a pothole, you can at least partially thank your fellow citizens in arrears. Coun. Tom Therien, chairman of the Finance Committee, put it best: "Let's face it, the money that's owed to the city is owed to the entire taxpaying base. If you're not paying it, you're not paying it to everybody else, and somebody's got to make up the shortfall." Yet finances aren't the only municipal matter in which a stricter approach is called for. Last year, council voted to allow city crews to write down license plate numbers of vehicles that disregard detours, and have a fine mailed to the owner. Though there was some debate about the measure being heavy-handed, the simple fact is that barricades were being ignored, putting both city workers and the careless drivers in harm's way. You can't worry about being Mr. Nice Guy in such dangerous situations. The city is like any other organization in that it wants wants methods that deliver results, not flimsy half-measures. And as we've seen, getting tough works. Back in 2004, the city was having a heck of a time getting an individual to pony up for outstanding parking fines totaling more than $1,300. After a warning letter was sent and still nothing happened, the city had the guilty party's vehicle impounded. Like magic, within an hour of the tow truck's arrival, the individual had made arrangements to stop by City Hall to deal with the debt. The license plate measure is also working wonders. Since the law took effect nearly 18 months ago, the city hasn't mailed a single fine. As long as there are people who need a not-so-friendly push to do what's lawful and right, it's only proper that the City of Flin Flon get tough. Local Angle runs Fridays.
