12-01-2016, 02:53 PM
(12-01-2016, 02:49 PM)ijmorlan Wrote:(12-01-2016, 02:05 PM)MidTowner Wrote: We couldn't do that. Many property owners would opt out. Most of those would meet whatever relatively low standard the municipal government sets for itself, and then we would have a situation where the municipality clears half of the frontages on a street, probably at practically the same cost as clearing them all.
Why do you think that? By opting out you get back maybe one fine payment on your taxes, if that, and in return you’re responsible for clearing after every snowfall and subject yourself to liability to fines for failing. Certainly nobody who pays a snow-clearing company is going to opt out — there is no way the snow clearing company is doing it for less than the opt-out amount.
The vast majority of property owners don't contract out snow removal, they're homeowners who shovel their sidewalks when it snows, and who probably would continue to, and would be happy to get 10 dollars back on their property taxes.
While I don't claim to know how many would take up on the opt-out, if it was more than a handful though, the system would break, the efficiencies and cost savings we get by having the city do it, manifest because the plow can just cruise along and clear every sidewalk, which doesn't work if 1 house on every block opts out.