Des Moines City Councilman Joe Gatto's upset there are people who still haven't shoveled their sidewalks of snow.
At Monday night's City Council meeting, Gatto said there are businesses that aren't shoveling snow anymore. He said he's heard that even the City of Des Moines stopped shoveling snow.
That was news to Public Works Director Jonathan Gano. He told the council that the sequence of snowfall after snowfall has made it hard to enforce the city code that could fine business and home owners 50 dollars for the first instance, 100 dollars for the second when they don't shovel their walks 48 hours from the end of the snowfall.
So far, 172 notices have been sent to owners for the $50 fines.
Council members want the city to focus on repeat offenders and absentee landowners who skirt the law. Several on the council last night said the city should shovel the walks, bill the landowner for it, then fine them for disobeying the ordinance.