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Several years ago the city where we live decided that we had to have three large waste disposal bins... one for garbage, one for recycling, and one for green waste. These are 60 Gallon bins on wheels. There is no place beside our house behind the fence to place these behemoths. Besides I have a very bad back and my wife has bad knees... maneuvering these huge wheeled bins through a gate is almost impossible, especially since the gas meter sticks out into the pathway. So, like 80% of our neighbors, we keep these three bins on the street side of the gate.

Last year I had a company replace our old, wooden, swing-up garage door with a new, modern one. The company dismantled the old door and left it on the driveway. Despite my calls for them to come and pick up this dismantled door (removal and disposal was included in the contract) they did not do so for two weeks. For this time, we could not put the damn bins back next to the garage in front of the gate.

Someone in the neighborhood called in a complaint about the "eyesore". One day before the garage door company finally picked up the debris, I found an envelope hanging on my front door with a warning notice from the city... remove the trash or else incur a fine. The enforcement officer also marked down "Trash bins in public view."

Well, since the garage door was finally gone, I placed my 3 bins back where almost everybody else in the neighborhood keeps theirs. Imagine my shock when three days later I come home and find ANOTHER envelope hanging on my front door. Inside was a City building code violation ticket... my trash bins were still in public view... and an order to pay a fine of $53 for noncompliance with an order. Along with the ticket was a letter explaining I had the right to dispute the violation and appeal the fine. To do so required that I pay a $54 nonrefundable infraction appeal fee to dispute it!!!! It was stressed that regardless of the outcome of the hearing on my dispute, the fee would not be refunded!

Despite the fact that 80% of the houses in my neighborhood keep their blasted, awkward bins in the exact same place we do, I was the only one to receive this fine... and it would cost me more than the fine to argue that I am physically disabled and unable to move the damn bins through the gate. I wrote them explaining the situation and that in light of the above, I refused to pay their fine. They added it to my property tax bill.

"He has erected a multitude of New Offices,
and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass
our people and eat out their substance.
United States Declaration of Independence

"Lose" the bins. I mean make them disappear and then call the city and demand new ones. Make those disappear and demand new ones again. Repeat as necessary.

To do so required that I pay a $54 nonrefundable infraction appeal fee to dispute it!!!! It was stressed that regardless of the outcome of the hearing on my dispute, the fee would not be refunded!

You should have written a note back saying that as an illegal alien you do not have to pay fines or sales tax and that they should leave you alone lest you complain to the Mexican Consulate.