Town of Wheatfield considering change in garbage-related violation enforcement

By Benjamin Joe

Senior Contributing Writer

A ticket due to garbage-related violations may become more likely as officials look toward changes in the Town of Wheatfield town code. The new law would allow constables to write tickets for violations such as leaving out garbage totes or illegal dumping.

Formerly, tickets for garbage violations were in the jurisdiction of the town’s building and code enforcement department but, according to Town Attorney Matthew Brooks, that may change.

“We’re working on a draft of a new law to replace our Chapter 161 about solid waste,” Brooks said in a brief phone interview.

“We’re changing it with regard to one section, which talks about enforcing appearance tickets. We’re going to add to that and, besides allowing our code enforcement officer to write tickets, our constables can write tickets, as well.”

Violations will include putting out garbage totes too early, not bringing them back off the curb, and putting out too much garbage.

Fines for the first offense could be up to $250 and up to 15 days in jail. Multiple offenses include fines from $250 to $1,000 and up to 15 days in jail.

Brooks said the new changes will be discussed in the April 2 Town of Wheatfield Town Board meeting, possibly to set up a public hearing at the following meeting. After that, he said he believed the changes in the code would be approved.

Danial Guiher, deputy chief, said the new task will not be too onerous for him or his fellow constables.

“Currently, we give tickets for overnight parking in the winter months. We do issue tickets for expired registrations, expired inspections. It’s just one more ticket. You fill it out, you file the paperwork with the court, and you move on from there,” he said.

Supervisor Don MacSwan also commented on the changes.

“In short, I think instead of just having the building department be responsible for it, the constables, when they’re on the road, if they catch someone dumping, they can issue a ticket for it. I think it’s a good thing,” he said.