DUNEDIN, Fla. — In their first interview since the city gained national attention for extreme fines over violations like lawn length, the mayor and city manager of Dunedin explained their side of the story.
In started in May when Jim Ficken told the media about his lawsuit with the city of Dunedin. He said code enforcement called him a "repeat offender" and he racked up $500 a day.
The city started foreclosure actions against him when they couldn't come to an agreement on how to handle $30,000 worth of fines.
Then, Kristi Allen told her story about how she still racked up $103,000 in fines even after she'd gone through a foreclosure and moved out in 2011.
She said she didn't receive a notice she owed the money until years after she moved out of the home. Now, she said she's paying attorney fees to fight those fines rather than paying for her son's speech therapy and daughter's gymnastics.
Until now, city leaders in Dunedin had declined interviews and even hired a crisis public relations firm to help them navigate the negative attention.
Mayor Julie Bujalski and City Manager Jennifer Bramley told 10News reporter Liz Crawford they've received backlash, hate mail and death threats since Jim Ficken first told his story in May.
On Friday, the two leaders called their code enforcement policies "complaint-driven" and "not aggressive."
"We have an obligation to not only deal with the person who is violating but to protect those that live next to them and on their street and in their neighborhood," said Mayor Bujalski.
While the mayor agreed that losing a home over uncut grass is excessive, she referred to Florida statutes mandating the fine amounts.
"Those fines don't look at what the violation is, it looks at, are you a first-time offender or a multiple offender? The code board looks at it the same way. They're not necessarily looking at what the thing is and again, all code boards operate the same way. Doesn't mean it's right. It just means it's legal."
The city wouldn't comment specifically on Jim Ficken's or Kristi Allen's situations because they're still going through the courts but Mayor Bujalski did say the city needs to make changes to their code enforcement policy.
"You don’t go through something like this as a community and as good leaders and not take a step back and look at what’s going on in your community and ask yourself the question, what can we do better? That’s exactly what we’re going to do."
Watch the entire interview with the Dunedin city manager and mayor here.
The city recently added more information on their website about their code enforcement policies. Click here to learn more about Dunedin code enforcement.
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