On Jan. 26, I committed a crime. My crime is so offensive that I need to appear in court (for the first time in my life), in front of a judge. I was ordered to do this. What have I done? I parked in front of my house!
On Feb. 1, I opened the mail to find a ticket. The ticket was mailed to me by the code enforcement officer, Alex Birzin. I read the ticket which said I was parked in the road during a “snow event.” The ticket was issued at 10:55 a.m.
It is sad how desperate this town has become for money if a fine is issued to a citizen for parking in front of his house.
The “snow event” was not predicted by the local newspapers or weather people. It intensified to a dusting and if someone is already at work, should they now have to come home and move their car?
In addition, the road did not need to be cleared for snow plows that day, so the parked car posed no hindrance to passing vehicles or pedestrians.
In calling Mr. Birzin, he said he was caught in the middle as his boss instructed him to go out and begin issuing fines. I have lived in Howell for 20 years and this never happened before. I have now come to find out this was a new ordinance passed in April 2010. How would someone know this?
I think Mr. Birzin’s boss needs to ask himself how fair this conduct was. Did I mention that the fine begins at $150? How can people get ahead here when they are being harassed with exorbitant fines?
I would love to know where Mr. Birzin’s sense of what is right was when the entire Point O’ Woods development remained snowed in with no plows coming to clear the development for a few days.
Did he make sure that was handled appropriately or is he just harassing citizens who are minding their own business and trying to make a living to afford to live in what is still a great town, in spite of bureaucracy ploys like a $150 fine for parking a car when no snow plows are in the area?
Dee Ann LaMonico Howell