Bay City is charging residents $200 for forgetting to bring in their trash bins, and people are furious
BAY CITY, MI — Bay City residents are expressing concern over $200 fines being issued for leaving trash bins at the curb past pickup day, with some calling the penalty excessive for what they consider a minor infraction.
The issue came to light when Robert Struck, a Bay City property owner, reported that one of his tenants received a $200 bill after their dumpster remained beside the street following the 8 a.m. deadline on trash pickup day.
“Well, in writing and enforced are two different things,” Struck said. “My guess is, they just decided that they’re going to start enforcing it, which is fine, but you can’t not enforce it forever and then just go around and ticket half the city.”
Bay City Public Works Director Robert Dion described the fee structure as a deterrent. He explained that fines escalate with repeated violations, starting at $200 for the first offense, increasing to $350 for the second, and $500 for the third.
“Anytime a trash pickup is done, we go out the following day or two and we inspect all the cans,” Dion said. “If we find cans that are still left out, we move them onto the resident’s property. We don’t access their property. We pull it across the sidewalk. They’re tagged.”
At a Bay City Commission meeting on Monday, Aug. 18, Commissioner Craig Kokaly voiced concerns about an 81-year-old constituent who received the fine.
“He takes care of his house. He does everything up to code and apparently he was a day behind and had a $200 fine,” Kokaly said.
Struck, whose affected tenant is a single mother working two jobs with a decade-long perfect record as a resident, questioned the severity of the penalty. He noted that, while the city sends notices for overgrown grass before taking action, the trash bin violation results in an immediate substantial fine for what he estimates is “45 seconds” of city employee work to move the bin.
Following discussions with 4th Ward Commissioner Ben Tenney, Struck expressed optimism that the policy might be reviewed and modified.
“We’re all working together to get this changed, because everybody’s got a situation,” he said.
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