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City official's fines pile up
By DAN DeWITT In the summer, weeds and grass grow knee-high on the vacant lots across from Larry Scroggins' house in Hill 'n Dale. One of the lots, on the corner of Warner Avenue and Boxwood Street, sometimes becomes so overgrown it "gets real dangerous," Scroggins said. "(Drivers) can't see around the corner. They come around the corner and the kids are out here playing in the street." The lots he referred to are owned by longtime Brooksville City Council member Joe Johnston III. According to county records, Johnston for more than a decade has failed to regularly mow the 10 lots he owns in the subdivision. Because the county charges him when it must mow the property, Johnston now owes a total of $19,905 on the lots, including interest. The outstanding bill to code enforcement may be the highest in the county, said county code enforcement director Frank McDowell III. Johnston has also failed to pay property taxes on all the lots for at least five years, accruing a total of $17,060 in unpaid taxes. The county has placed liens on the property for the amount Johnston owes, meaning it would collect the money if the property is sold. The code enforcement liens are called "public nuisance liens" and with good reason, McDowell said. "That's what the public thinks (overgrown lots) are, because it's a nuisance to have overgrown property near your home," McDowell said. "It's a place to throw trash. It's a place where vermin can breed. It's a place where people can loiter." It is also an affront to recent efforts on the part of the county and some residents to encourage homeowners to improve the neighborhood, Scroggins said. The county plans to build a park on 10 acres next to the subdivision, partly in an effort to reduce crime. The Sheriff's Office has recently helped residents restart their crime watch organization. "I guess it's good for some people to do what they want and not for others," Scroggins said. Johnston said he regrets the debt he has racked up with the county. "I feel bad," he said. And he would pay it, he said, "if it was financially feasible to do so. Unfortunately, I don't have some loose money laying around." He said he hopes to be able to pay off the debt if the property is sold, possibly at a tax sale. It is also possible that the purchase price would not cover the tax and code enforcement liens, which total $36,965. The total appraised value of the 10 lots is $36,800, according to the property appraiser. County records show Johnston originally bought 12 lots in Hill 'n Dale in 1990 for $26,000. This was shortly after Wal-Mart announced plans to build a distribution center in Ridge Manor, Johnston said, and he anticipated an increased demand for affordable housing. He had an agreement with a contractor to build homes for rent or resale, he said, but that arrangement soon fell through. Instead of rising, according to the county, property values have declined over the past decade. Most of the lots were devalued three years ago, from $4,200 to $3,600. He did not invest money to keep the property maintained, he said, "because it was throwing good money after bad." He did not settle his debt with code enforcement, he said, because he considers the charges to be unreasonable. County law calls for landowners to be cited if they allow their grass to grow more than 18 inches high. "That person has 20 days to take care of it or respond to us," said Marilyn Thomas, McDowell's secretary. "They could respond and say, 'I need another week,' and we would work with them, because our goal is not to fine people. Our goal is compliance." If the property owner does not respond, she said, the county mows the property. Along with a mowing fee, typically about $35, the county adds other charges, including $160 for administration and $25 per lot for every inspection by an officer. In recent years, the assessments on Johnston's properties have been more than $350 each. And though the earlier charges, which date back to 1991, were usually less than $100, they have since accumulated nearly twice that amount in interest. Johnston has mowed his property some years. And one time he met with McDowell to try to reach an agreement on a payment plan. But mostly he has ignored the county's repeated notifications about his property. "He had the same opportunity to cut the grass as John Doe down the street," McDowell said. "If he would have gone out and taken care of this situation when he received the original notice, we never would have had to go through this process."
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