Kipper Doran Receives Vague Explanations to Why He is Fined for Toter

In January, 2010, the City of Columbus, (City Garage) placed a trash toter on my property, in my front yard, beside one of the two oak trees, in the front of my property! It sat in the same spot for one year nine months!

The only person that ever moved the toter was, City of Columbus Employees that serviced the toter.

They came one day a week for one year nine months! They picked the toter up, emptied the trash, and sat it back in the same spot they had been placing it for almost two years!

Five weeks ago, we started receiving fines from the City of Columbus! They claimed "we had been leaving our trash toter curbside for more than 24 hours before or after the day of pickup"

I agreed we had been leaving it "curbside" for one year nine months! But with no complaints or citations the whole time! We didn’t know there was such a problem to exist!

We received a notice (TICKET # 003), So I went out and pulled the toter from the curb (to come into compliance) across the public sidewalk onto my front yard!

The next week, we received another TICKET #004 for a $50 fine, for leaving the toter curbside!

I called Jeff Whittington, at the City Garage (his name is at the bottom of the ticket as issuer) and asked him "HOW FAR FROM THE CURB DO I NEED TO MOVE THE TOTER FROM THE CURBSIDE INTO MY YARD SO IT WOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED "CURBSIDE?"

He replied" That there was no such rule, but that the city attorney, Allen Whitted thinks that my toter would look better on the right side of my home and advised Jeff that if this went to court "I would lose the case!"

According to the city attorney, Allen Whitted, and if I wanted to argue with the City attorney, Allen Whitted, I could, but I would lose!

I explained to Jeff, if there was no rule or ordinance I was breaking!  I believed they were enforcing "Someone else’s opinion" not an actual law not warranting a fine! I also advised Jeff that I would not be paying these fines without first seeing a Judge that could let me know my rights as a PROPERTY OWNING, TAX PAYING, AMERICAN!  

I went out and moved the toter on my property again closer to my home, and the next week, I received ticket #005 for a $100.00 fine; the reason "leaving toter curbside again".

I asked again how far I needed to move the toter from the curb. Jeff replied "They would like it if I moved to the toter to the side of my home and they would throw away the tickets!”

I explained that my home was professionally landscaped! The front of my property to the south side was rock, bushes, flowers shrub all the way to my neighbor’s driveway and without using someone else’s property!

I could move the toter no further!  So I called the Mayor Armstrong’s office.  A nice lady answered the phone and I let her know I was being fined for leaving my toter curbside and that I would like the "Fred Armstrong" to tell me "how far from the curb I needed to move the toter in my yard, so it would not be considered curbside?"

She said she would check it out and let me know she also let me know, the city had made many "Elderly" people move there toter to the back of their homes because a neighbor had complained. "Let me give you an example." she said “there was one elderly lady that kept her toter on her front porch because she had trouble taking it much further because she physically couldn’t do it! Since her neighbor didn’t like seeing it on the porch, they made her move it to the rear of the home!”

EVEN THOUGH THEY KNEW THERE WAS NO PHYSICAL WAY SHE WOULD EVER GET THE TOTER BACK TO THE CURB FOR TRASH DAY!  "IT MIGHT BE MEAN!" She says to me "But we do it all the time!" 

The next week I received ticket #006, another fine of $150.00; reason “ toter is considered curbside”

So the next week when it was trash day I pulled the toter out to the curb from my yard and started thinking "if up by my house is being considered curbside, worth $150.00 fine. Then if I put the toter in the middle of my yard they would have to take it, right? 

Jeff Whittington had no answer to "what the definition of curbside was?" BUT CONTINUED TO BRING TICKETS!   

So when the trash man came, I brought out my FLIP VIDEO CAMERA and recorded the City trash man (Mike Estes's) explanation of what had been explained to him what curbside was!

A video of him explaining how all the fines I received were not legal according to city regulations.

After explaining to JEFF WHITTINGTON and JIM NORRIS that I was not breaking a law or ordinance, I said if they could show me one, I would come into compliance with said rule or ordinance!

Until then, they were simply pushing an opinion on me!

So the next week I received ticket #007 with a fine of $200.0; reason is "public nuisance" and they put an ordinance number  9-16.01.

So I called Jeff Whittington’s office and turned on my FLIP VIDEO and placed him on speaker phone and recorded our conversation. He explained to me that I am not the public nuisance, but that my toter was!

I asked what my toter was doing to be a "NUISANCE" He explains on video that "my toter is DANGEROUS. UNSANITARY, ETC.."

I explained "That I had two children, and if that is what they considered the toter to be. By all means come and remove it from my property and that they needed to remove it from everyone’s property if they are dangerous! 

At the bottom of every ticket it states “Failure to remit within 7 days will result in issuance of a summons and additional penalty (court costs etc...) 

I let Jeff Whittington know that he and the city were violating my rights and that I wanted to go to court upon receiving ticket #004;

To this day, I have received no summons.

So I went to the city board of works meeting on Tuesday, September 20, and was told they had not filed anything at that point but wanted to keep my tickets active so they could take me to court!

"We might lose" the city attorney, Allen Whitted, said to the board of works, "but when we do we can go in and change the law so that if this happens again, we can have the law readjusted on our behalf!"  

The three videos are posted so you can here exactly what has been explained to me by the people issuing these fines!

Tagged: Mayor, Kipper Doran, Fines, Jeff Whittington, Trash Toter, Curbside, City Attorney, Allen Whitted, Board of Works, Fred Armstrong