Quincy looking to step up nuisance abatement, increase fines when it has to clean private property

QUINCY — The Quincy City Council heard a presentation Monday on how the city may be able to tighten up and better enforce cases of unkept properties that the city eventually ends up cleaning up.

Director of Inspection Michael Seaver and City Attorney Bruce Alford gave aldermen an idea of how to handle nuisance abatement cases that includes trash and junk in people’s yards and yards with foot-tall grass.

The proposal includes shifting more cases to the judicial process to improve compliance, potentially requiring additional funding for legal and special cleanup costs. The city’s current budget for nuisance abatement is $350,000, with $1,000 allocated for process serving.

In 2019, the city established a full-time code enforcement officer, which boosted case numbers. Seaver said the city has responded to about 2,400 cases since 2023, with overgrown grass and weeds, and litter accumulation comprising more than 80 percent of code enforcement cases.

Most cases are west of 18th Street with more than 60 percent coming from the 2nd and 7th Wards.

Seaver said a case can be triggered by citizen calls, referrals, or proactive inspections. Complaints can also be filed through the city website, allowing tracking of case status by address.

Alford said once a complaint is verified, a notice is sent to the property owner, with additional notices to residents if it’s a rental property. The notice includes a right to appeal, encourages contact with the inspector for questions, and outlines the potential for liens and citations.

After seven days, if the nuisance is not abated, enforcement begins, with the inspector verifying the status. The administrative process is used for most cases, while the judicial process is reserved for urgent or repeat offender cases.

Alford said Assistant Corporation Counsel Judy Abbott will handle the cases that reach the litigation stage.

Quincy currently charges $60 per man hour when they have to go in and clean up someone’s property, and that amount hasn’t changed in at least 20 years. Mayor Linda Moore suggested increasing that fee to $100 per hour and other aldermen suggested raising it event higher.

The city hired six new employees for part-time summer help and three of those hires will be used to help clean up properties.

In other action, aldermen approved:

• The mayor’s nominations for both the Strategic Task Force on Housing and the Sports Commission.
• The proposed contract of Crawford, Murphy and Tilly for services related to the DBE Program at Quincy Regional Airport not to exceed $10,300.
• The quote in The amount of $11,250.00 from Woody’s Municipal Supply Company of Edwardsville, IL for the purchase of a replacement sweeper head.
• Spending $22,947.50 for the delivery and receipt of 6.7 tons of granular sodium fluoride and the invoice totaling $64,047.50 from Brenntag Mid-South, Inc. of Henderson KY.
• Invoices totaling $25,244.06 from Hawkins, Inc. of Roseville, MN for the purchase of polymer and sodium bicarbonate.
• An invoice from Badger Meter of Milwaukee, WI in the amount of $9,343.87 for the renewal of cellular-based meter reading software.
• The quote from Midwest Meter, Inc. of Edinburg, IL in the amount of $7,750.00 for the purchase of ten (10) 2” water meters.
• An intergovernmental agreement for video surveillance camera system cost-sharing for a
  five-year period beginning on April 7, 2025, and ending on April 6, 2030 and the City Treasurer
  be authorized to invoice Quincy Township.