In 2011 the City of Salisbury told a home owner who is a 76 year old handicapped widow and a lifelong Democrat that she owed $100 because her grass was higher than the ordinance allows and the city had to take it upon themselves to cut it. The problem is that never happened. The homeowner pays a local landscaping service to maintain her lawn and according to him the grass has never been high enough to be in violation of the ordinance in the past decade since he has been looking after this particular property.
The elderly lady immediately notified both the city of Salisbury and Neighborhood Services showing them copies of paid bills from her landscaper as proof she wasn’t in violation of the ordinance. They never responded, therefore, she believed the matter to be resolved. She is living off of her social security and her home, which was paid for, represented a large portion of her entire net worth. The fiasco which was to follow caused both her and her daughter considerable stress, heartache and even led to medical problems.
In 2012 she received the bill again and immediately sent certified letters to the City of Salisbury notifying them of the error and her letters went ignored. Later in 2012, she received a summons to go to court due to the unpaid grass cutting fee which was now up to over $200 due to late fees and interest. When she went to court, she looked on the docket, located her name and went in the proper courtroom with documents in hand where she intended to win her case, only the hearing never happened. She was surprised to find the designated courtroom empty. She took a seat in a row and a man in a suit with a briefcase who appeared to be a lawyer told her she didn’t need to have a hearing. She could just go out in the lobby and speak to Susan Phillips, the Director of Neighborhood Services and Code Compliance. According to the homeowner, Ms. Phillips was nice, looked over her documents and told her when she got back to her office she would look into her complaint. Phillips said if the grass really was in violation, there would be photographs of it and she would send copies of the pictures to the homeowner. If not, she promised to correct the billing error. Phillips never sent the photographs and the homeowner once again thought the billing error had been corrected.
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My Version of the Story:
My Mom's home is located at 203 New York Avenue. She is retired and a window. Because she gets lonely, she travels often. I live nearby in Ocean City. My name is on the deed and I look after her house especially when she is away.
Back in October 2011, Mom received a bill from the City of Salisbury for $100. They said her grass was too high and in violation of code and that the City had to cut it.(They said the date they cut it was October 7, 2011) I knew this had to be a mistake because ever since we have owned the house, we have hired an expensive professional landscaper who keeps our entire yard in beautiful condition. My Mom keeps her house beautiful. Her yard is not only one of the nicest yards on her street, it is one of the prettiest yards and homes in the entire neighborhood. She is very proud of it. My Mom and I immediately notified the City that the bill must be a mistake and sent them paid invoices from our private landscaper who we hired showing that he cut the grass on the following dates:
October 5, 2014
October 12, 2014
October 24, 2014
Our landscaper is Carmen from Cutting Crew Lawn Care. He works with the City of Salisbury and many employees from the City of Salisbury know and like him.
They never responded to our letter or sent another bill that year. So, we assumed they had corrected their mistake.
Then in 2012 the bill came again only it was a higher amount because of late fees and interest. Again we sent certified letters to the City of Salisbury stating our belief that the bill was an error and showing a copy of our paid invoice to our private landscaper. Letters were sent to both the Division Street office and the Church street office. I saved copies of the letters and I have copies of the certified receipts and the signature proof that the letters were delivered. At the Church street office T. Washington signed for it. At the Division street office Susan C. Lovent signed for delivery. Once again nobody from Salisbury responded to our letters.
Then we received a summons to go to court for this matter.(2012) My Mom and I were hoping we would get a hearing so that we could present our case and our side of the story. Instead we were told to talk to Susan Phillips in the lobby. We showed her our paid invoice proving we had cut our grass ourselves. She said she would look into it back at her office and if the city had made a mistake, she would correct it. She said if the City really had cut our grass, she would have photographs of the grass being too high which she would send to us. Susan Phillips never sent us photographs and we didn't get a bill again for another year. Therefore, once again we assumed the situation had been corrected.
A year later in 2013, we received the bill again for a much higher amount. Again I sent certified return receipt letters which I kept the receipts for and again we were ignored.
The next letter we got was in August 2014 notifying us that the City had put a lien on our property, then had a tax sale and sold the house for half of what it was worth. All of this was due to this $100 mistake for this grass bill. No matter how hard I have tried nobody from the City was willing to correct this for me.
The first step my Mom took to get the house back was to save a little money each month and borrow money from myself and others until she had an extra $750 to send to Mr.James Truitt, the purchaser, to purchase an embossed acknowledgement, which we did. (However, according to that document we only have until mid November to redeem the house or further fees will be owed. The City is currently slowing this process down.)
On Monday October 27th, my Mom and I went to the government building on Division street to try to work this out. We spent most of the day talking to people there. We still don't feel we should have to pay the $380 lien which was the original $100 grass cutting bill which we still don't believe we owe. The county office told us we would have to straighten it out with the city and that there was nothing the county could do. We talked to four different people on the first floor who were with the City of Salisbury. None of them felt they could help us and each person respectively went to get their supervisor. Eventually we were told to sign in and were taken upstairs to have a short sit down meeting with Tom Stevenson, the City Administrator. He was kind and was the first person in three years who appeared to be willing to help us. You can't imagine what a relief this felt like to us after struggling with this problem and being frustrated for over three long years. He looked at the acknowledgement and our paid invoices from our landscaper. He said he would be meeting with Susan Phillips the next day, Tuesday, and would look into it and try to help us out.
We waited all day but he didn't call us on Tuesday. On Wednesday I called him and gave his secretary my name. He didn't take my call. It went to voice mail. I left a message. Ten minutes later Susan Phillips called me. The buck had been passed again. Sigh. She seemed a little angry. She still claimed that the city had cut our grass and that we owed the money and she claimed to have photographs of our grass being high. When I asked her to please mail me copies of the photographs, she refused. She felt like I should show her photographs of my grass being low. She also wanted me to take off work in Ocean City and drive to Salisbury to show her photographs of my grass being low. I'm sorry but I think it's unreasonable for the city to expect property owners to take weekly pictures of their grass just in case they need to prove it was cut. Like the attached article says, I'm innocent until proven guilty. The burden of proof lies with the city. If they think my mother and I had a violation, why can't they send me proof? I really don't think I am asking too much after everything the City has put me and my mother through over the last three years due to this situation. After I got off the phone with her, I had my landscaper Carmen from Cutting Crew Lawn Care call her. Carmen knows Susan Phillips and Tom Stevenson. They all work together and like each other. Carmen swore to Susan Phillips that in the ten years we have used his landscaping service that our yard has NEVER been high or been in violation of the city code, not once in ten years! He told her if she had pictures of our grass being in violation that he would pay the fee himself. Susan Phillips wouldn't share photos with him either. Even after he swore he cut my grass, Susan told him. "I haven't decided what I am going to do" I also tried to call Tom Stevenson a couple times towards the end of the day but nothing got resolved.
In the meantime, I tried to pay our property taxes during the month of October but the county sent them back. They refuse to accept them until I get this grass cutting lien removed and officially redeem the property. So, the longer the City of Salisbury takes to either remove the lien or let me have a hearing to air my grievances, the more money this will cost my Mom. I had hoped we could fix this before Friday because after the first of November the property taxes will go up. And again it is unfair that my Mom is being punished when it is the City who is dragging their feet and holding this matter up and not my Mom. She was ready to pay her taxes on Monday but because nobody from the City would help us, as of today, we still can't pay the County our taxes.
Nobody will help my Mom and I. Like the attached article says for three years people keep passing the buck to someone else.
THIS IS AN URGENT MATTER! My mom will lose her home in two weeks if we can't resolve this. Please find it in your heart to help us work this out within the next day or two.
48 comments:
the city will rip you off if given the chance. They did it to me and cost me 20k. My advice to you is pay the $100 and move on.
Again government employees against citizens. Government doesn't want to admit wrongdoing or the possibility of their mistake.
Just curious...how much has the "BURY" spent trying to collect $100.00 ?
9:07 City employee's shouldn't comment as it's obvious your advise is backwards and just plain stupid.
SUE. Period. Name city officials personally. Cost them money to defend themselves.
Needed to take pics of slum lord properties around town.Look at the tire shop in a shopping center on the curve.
Like so many other local jurisdictions, Salisbury and Wicomico County have become cash collecting machines. Really nothing more than an additional tax, levied for the most minor infractions. Law enforcement already has this down to a science. The ingenious thing about it is that they collect tons of money that is not factored in as a tax increase.
I don't think this is true because no lien against the owner/owners have been recorded on MDLandRec.net, nor are they coming up on Md Judiciary Case Search's Circuit Court Judgments and Liens. A lien has to be recorded to be enforceable. If there is an attorney involved they should be aware of this.
File suit against the City, Code and Compliance, Tom Stevenson and Susan Phillips. Sue them until the cows come home.
And what's the city's version of the story? People don't lose their houses in Salisbury for liens less than tens of thousands of dollars, and even then it's a long, drawn out process, with lots of communication between city and owner over a period of several years. That is, unless the owner gives the city a non-working set of contact information (they send notices, etc. by USPS Registered Mail (face-to-face signature reqired) to the owner's currently published SDAT property owner address, not necessarily the street address of the property in question, or doesn't accept or ignores the letters and notices. The next step, which occurs much, much later (again, years), is court papers hand-delivered to the owner (again, not necessarily the address property address) by a process server, an employee of the legal system.
The reason that the information goes to the owner's address is because the owners maintain all legal responsibility for the property, not the tenants, paying or not. If the tenant's name isn't on the deed, the law says that they aren't legally responsible or approachable in any case of property issues, except as witnesses in isolated cases, and that's a whole 'nother ball of wax.
This person's side of the story needs to have its facts checked and published, then the readers can make an informed conclusion.
That's what you get for being a "lifelong Democrat" and a "window."
These people are lying. The mother does not live there. They are slumlords. What about all the crap the tenants had about? Seems that's what you were jacked up on. Debris in yard. Look on case search. Oh I guess case search is wrong.
Why isn't there anything in the public records on this?
I've seen the mayor bragging on Facebook about collecting fines for the city a while back.
I found that very upsetting since he as mayor should be creating new revenue rather than being happy about penalizing existing customers over mostly frivolous charges.
Delaware looks better and better everyday.
Can you change the associated picture to one of Pollitt,Stevenson and Ireton raising their glasses in a toast
Lets assume everything in this reader submitted article is factual.
Yeah she is a democrat and I can't help but feel is getting what she deserves. After all she has helped to elect the very people with their hands in her pockets. But that attitude is childish. At this point it appears that the city does not care about the people it steals from. Should we really expect anything less? Dem or Rep this is a person in need of help. Try not to let labels distract you from that.
A window?
Since they hid from the servers that would explain why the courtroom was empty. They most likely looked on Judiciary a saw a date and just showed up w/no acknowledgement of even getting the notice. I think Sby News readers in general are too smart and do their own research and know that parts of this are false and other parts omitted.
With all that is wrong w/Salisbury and the country in general, this is something that should be immediately flagged as suspicious to those of us who know the real story and the parties involved. Tales like this is what makes people tend to brush off legitimate problems.
OK Tom, Susan and Carmen who does lawn care - What say you?
10:11 I doubt you'll get the city's side, as they are too incompetent to even answer the phone. City employees are bad, very bad, and are inept at common sense and efficiency.
11:56, I believe 10:11 has given us the city's side. I can attest to some of what was said because I work near where these people live (and yes they both live in OC, contrary to what is posted about living in Salisbury) and what we assumed were collection agencies were looking for them awhile back, going as far as asking those who work in the area for information on them. They used to park their car down the street which I personally let the people looking for them know about.
I google mapped the address and no, it is not one of the best kept properties on the block, there are several others that surpass this modest home.
The only argument that can be had, is the fact that is it a very small lot with barely any grass. Grass grows on both sides of the home but not in the front.
One can question the intelligence of the author, when she revealed the property sat vacant a lot. Why would you reveal, hey my old mother lives there alone, and travels a lot.
Not very well thought out.
LOL-the mother lives in Ocean City and so does the daughter-all the time. These are the same people who hire contractors and want them to work on weekends only so they don't have to get permits and inspections like the rest of us do! Salisbury and Ocean city officials need to watch them real good.
Property records say Joan and Michelle Fonte own the property. Yes they do live in Ocean City and not Salisbury. Why the assessment says the house is owner occupied needs to be checked out. To avoid getting a rental license possibly?
Why of course Michele the courtroom will be empty when you and your mother refused to answer the door when the summons were served. What are you simple or something? You sign and fill out paperwork regarding your intent to defend and if you don't the case doesn't remain on the docket. There certainly are 2 sides to this story and so far the side posted here isn't anywhere near the truth.
Hmmmmm if the mother lives in Salisbury I wonder if she is going to vote in Ocean City???????
Why in the world would anyone want to live in Salisbury? Let's see is it for the multitude of fines Salisbury has to offer? A person would have to be out of his mind to buy property or even rent in Salisbury. Living out of town I go out of my way to do my shopping and any healthcare I can in Berlin . why would I go to Salisbury where all the local government wants to is find ways to fine me? God forbid you get a repair order on your car you might be just shot in the head.
Grass to long : fine $$$$
Snow on a public sidewalk yet you are finned $$$
Cameras put in place not for public safety but for the soul purpose of bleeding you Americans out every cent they can.
I could go on and on with the petty fines put forth by the democrats . who I might add are supposed to be the party of the people. One can only hope for an end to this tyranny put forth by the democrats . as of right now though I just have one thing to say to people from Salisbury . YOUR SCREWED
I looked on case search and I don't think they are being truthful either. They have entries for "failing to make repairs" & "fail to remove rubbish" is all. If it were the grass it would say so!
I don't know why people think they can get away with anything anymore because the internet tells everything.
Chuckie, that's not just Salisbury. Every city I know of can fine you for unkept yards and not removing snow from the sidewalks fronting your property. Some even fine you if the storm drain fronting your property is clogged w/with leaves.
"...a 76 year old handicapped widow..." Gee, could you make it sound any more pathetic? Handicapped puppies? An iron lung? A kid in a plastic bubble?
This is the kind of landlord that took over our city - just skirting the law and then whining with gusto when they get caught.
Suck it up and write an apology to the city council members, mayor and the general public before Joe sets your pants (or skirt) on fire with an expose.
2:12 PM
Yes! Go for it, Joe. These people will never retract or apologize.
The whole thing makes no sense. She says City says grass wasn't cut back in Oct of 2011, but then claims to have sent City invoices from Oct 2014 when the year in question is 2011. There is more to this then what these people are claiming. It's not like I was born yesterday or something.
Simple solution:
1. Pay off the fine.
2. Then SELL the property. (Mom's not living there anyway, right?)
3. While waiting for the sale, hire a better lawn care person.
With the many run-down eye-sore properties in Salisbury, it doesn't make sense that the city would single out an elderly handicapped lady to pick on and harass.
You stated you had hoped for the chance to present your side in court. If everything you've said is true, you have the legal right to file your own complaint case with the court against the city. If the City of Salisbury illegally sold my home from under me for something I didn't do (a petty reason at that), I would definitely have my day in court.
When you get this straightened out, selling this property and saying "good riddance" to the city of Salisbury may be your best option. Residency within the Salisbury city limits has become an undesirable unsafe place to live, especially for seniors. It's just not what it used to be. We've had poor (liberal) leadership here for quite some time now and we're feeling the sting.
Good luck. And PLEASE, you and your mom, change your voting party to REPUBLICAN!
Don't believe a work out of this daughters mouth. Lying is what she does best.
The lady never rented the house in the ten years she lived there. The Mayor is guilty of libel calling her a slumlord.
I know somebody who works at Neighborhood Services. They said Joan Fonte’s next door neighbor, June Hailey was jealous of her. So, every time there was one weed in the Fonte’s grass, Hailey would start calling every day and complaining about her neighbor and wasting our tax money on trivial nonsense. Meanwhile, the weeds in Hailey’s yard are sky high. And Hailey’s yard is filled with wall to wall junk. Hailey has rubbish all over her back yard.
Miss Joan is such a nice lady. Everybody who knows her loves her and she adores her little home on New York Avenue. Mayor Ireton is a bully to treat her like that.
1st of all if you have a court date .... go!!!! the city did the same thing to me. ignoring all the homes around me ... siting only my home.... I did not speak to any one, i went to court... ask questions showed pics etc... it was dropped.... when they call the case the attorney representing the city just looked around and shrug his shoulders as if to say.... i don't know if she is here or not .... then i stood.... housing code persons will go after any small infraction.... ignoring larger fractions.....
"We still don't feel we should have to pay the $380 lien which was the original $100 grass cutting bill which we still don't believe we owe."
This is where you made your mistake. Do you not have a lawyer advising?
After attempting to straighten out with no results, you should have paid the bill so as not to incur more penalties and interest.
After you paid then you file with district court in the proper jurisdiction, where you would have been able to show the proof you said you have, subpoena witnesses (landscaper) and if what you are stating is true, you would have won your case.
A municipality is a taxing body who has ever right to seize and sell off for money owed to them. It's now out of their hands and you have to go through the redemption process and it appears you have dragged your feet on that too as time is now even more of the essence and clock clicking down.
While you may not "feel" you have to pay, that's not reality nor is it the law. I don't feel I should have to pay to take a crap either and because of flush tax some of us do.
A bit of advice-bills/invoices from Oct are meaningless. Show proof of payment for grass cutting in Sept of 2011, since that is when the violation was named.
When are you going to report the update - that the woman lied about every word she said - including using pictures of a disabled woman that is NOT her mother. Oh, by the way, this is an UNREGISTERED RENTAL PROPERTY, not her house! Also, my favorite part, the landscaper HAS GONE ON RECORD saying he WAS NOT taking care of the property at the time because he hadn't been paid (shocker, right?). Love the liars and thieves in this town. Everyone should pay their taxes & bills, but me! LOL
Joe, take these liars to task! They are killing our community. The mother isn't handicapped, doesn't live there and they have been using this as a drug den. Now they want sympathy - oh, and to not pay their taxes and bills like the rest of us?! NO. WAY. Don't let them hide, Joe! Don't let 'em!
I stand with the Fonte family. I have known them for a long time around the Bury. They are good people and they keep the home nice. They are true Tea Party conservatives unlike most people who comment on this site. The Mayor is not thinking straight. No pun intended.
Speaks volumes as to your bad upbringing 2:04. Your parents did a bad job at raising you. You don't lie and you do not "stand with" liars.
They are far far far from "true Tea Party conservatives."
Tea Party conservatives value honesty and the Fonte's do not.
The mother's head needs to be dragging in shame over this and the lies the daughter has told because it shows she failed in parenting miserably.
Even Queen of Liberty site where this was first reported has realized the wicked evil ways of these 2 degenerates and has taken the lies off her site.
I'm glad they lost the house. couldn't have happened to a better bunch. It's called karma and is a result of a lifetime of lying. I heard if they want to get it back, then they have to pay the amount it sold at auction for which is 10's of thousands of dollars. Serves them right-karma's bitten you in the butt.
Next time they decide to lie, let's hope they don't drag innocent people in it like the landscapers. These people are filthy and putrid and deserve anything bad that happens to them.
This taking is falling apart but I want to weigh in for anyone who may experience something like this work of fiction.
The "innocent until proven guilty" (presumption of innocence) exists exclusively in the judiciary branch of the government.
Assuming, incorrectly of course, that posted story is 100% true; what needed to be done then, was to show the violation never occurred. That's what you have to prove and it's on your back because presumption doesn't apply. I'm sure this was spelled out in the paperwork sent to them. When they kept on showing post-violation invoices of course the buck is going to be passed because they didn't want to accept what they needed to do. They mean nothing-nada. They do nothing to show violation didn't occur.
This could be done very simply by showing paid invoices/proof of payment during the month of Sept.
Showing that the grass was cut in September of 2011 was surely all that was asked of them. Of course when you don't comply with the rules everyone else has to follow and try to show inane "proof" which had nothing to do with the violation those involved are going to get sick and tired of you pretty darn quick. People can see though liars-Michelle and Joan!
Happy to hear the city saw through the maneuvering of these dregs who are dragging the city down. The description Dirt Bag comes to mind. Utter and complete trash!
Let this be a lesson to other dregs-Don't you dare come on this blog or any other and lie through your teeth in an attempt to gain sympathy. You will be exposed for the liars that you are-that is a fact.
The grass was never in violation during 2011. The property owner has paid invoices from their landscaper for the entire year. The landscaper is an honorable man. Susan Phillips is lying. If she had photos of the grass at 203 being long she would have sent them to Joe. She doesn’t. She doesn’t care if she hurts the homeowner or the landscaper. She can’t admit they were wrong.
What a foolish comment 8:03.
If the homeowners had any proof whatsoever that they weren't in violation, the house would still belong to them. It's not up to the city to prove anything so get that out of your pea brain.
They grew it now they need to suck it up and stop whining.
Again THE HOUSE IS GONE-SUCK IT UP OR PAY!
929- Exactly, the City can lie and force any property owner to pay whatever it wants. Ireton is an Imperial Mayor and his flunkies are liars! The homeowners landscaper cut the grass not the city. No photos= they are lying!
Susan Phillips is a liar. She is willing to throw Cutting Crew and the two women under the bus and publicly humiliate them to save face. If Phillips was honorable, she would admit she was wrong. The City never cut that grass which is why they don't have photographs of it.
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