PORTLAND – The city will take a more aggressive approach toward property owners who dispose of household items like mattresses, chairs and sofas on sidewalks and streets in front of their homes or apartment buildings.

City councilors voted unanimously Wednesday night to amend the city’s garbage, waste and junk disposal ordinances to allow to the city to assess a minimum $100 fee against a property owner who fails to remove the items.

The amendments also tighten the ordinances’ notification provision, which required that an owner be given three notices before the city could take enforcement action. Now, once they have been notified, owners will be given 24 hours to take action.

Suzanne Hunt, the city’s new sanitation compliance officer, will respond to complaints and try to work with owners to get trash removed in a timely fashion.

“It’s a health issue, a safety issue and an eyesore,” said Councilor Ed Suslovic, chairman of the council’s Public Safety Committee.

Acting City Manager Pat Finnigan said the city’s staff has met repeatedly to develop solutions to some of Portland’s waste disposal problems. Finnigan said the two major problems are the disposal of abandoned and worn-out personal property on city sidewalks and the accumulation of waste on private property.

Both problems have been acute at times on the peninsula, Finnigan said, especially at tenement houses.

There also have been problems with people who don’t live in Portland dumping trash on private property.

Councilor Cheryl Leeman expressed concerns about penalizing a property owner who doesn’t own the discarded items.

“The difficulty here is, there is some dumping going on by people from outside Portland,” she said.

“Some cities have drive by shootings. We have drive by dumpings,” Suslovic said.

Suslovic said his committee will review the program in six months to make sure it is not too heavy-handed and is effective.

Under the ordinance changes, the city will attempt to persuade the property owner to remove trash. If the owner refuses, the city will pay for the collection of the waste. The city will then bill the owner. If the charges remain unpaid, the city will put a lien on the property.

A minimum fee of $100 will be levied for each violation. If the waste exceeds one cubic yard, the city can assess an additional $100 for every cubic yard of material that’s removed.

City officials said the objective is to recover disposal costs.

“I know for some that this might seem heavy-handed, but last summer was very challenging,” said David Marshall, who represents Parkside and the West End. “We had Dumpsters overflowing with trash. Our system right now is unacceptable.”

Marshall said he doubts the city will break even on the cost of disposing of items that have been dumped on sidewalks.

“I don’t see this ($100) as a fine. I see it as a fee,” Marshall said.

Also Wednesday, the council voted to hire a consultant to assist with its search for a new city manager.

The council agreed to hire Colin Baenziger & Associates of Wellington, Fla. The firm was one of six that submitted proposals.

Councilors will hold a workshop Monday to discuss what they will be looking for in their new city manager.

Staff Writer Dennis Hoey can be contacted at 791-6365 or at:

dhoey@pressherald.com