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City of Mobile releases statement about letter warning residents of garbage violations

MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) – The city of Mobile has confirmed that letters sent to homeowners warning them about their garbage cans are from them. We originally told you about this story Wednesday night.

Those letters threatened people with fines for putting garbage cans out too early or leaving cans out too long. The warnings threatened homeowners with fines of over 600 dollars.

The city sent FOX10 the following statement Thursday evening clarifying the notice.

“The Notice of Violation (NOV) recently received by some residents is a warning that includes a possible “up to” fine based on the City’s existing ordinance. However, a fine that substantial would only be possible if a resident failed to take corrective actions after repeated, documented notices from a Municipal Enforcement Officer. We are currently reviewing the language on our Notice of Violation to make sure that it is clearly communicated. We are also in the process of reviewing the sections of the City’s ordinance that pertain to trash and garbage. During that review, we’ll be making a deliberate effort to ensure our schedule of fines and fees is reasonable, equitable and easy for Mobilians to understand moving forward.”

After the story aired, FOX10 received an email from another person who got a similar notice. It raised suspicions because one homeowner told us they have never seen anything like it.

“I’ve been living here for ten years, and we’ve never had any issues with any sort of fines,” one homeowner said.

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