Planning commission members on Monday were unanimous in their support for charging repeat offenders escalating penalty fines as well as billing them for getting the lawn mowed by a service. There would also be an administration fee for time incurred by the town.

“We also need to make clearer what constitutes a violation...in terms of height of grass,” said planning director Marshall Sebra in suggesting amendments to the ordinance. He noted some locales use a 12-inch maximum height of grass.

The notification of violation process begins with an inspection of the property, he said. Owners receive a written notice and up to two weeks to fix the problem. If the problem persists, the town reserves the right to go on the property to cut the grass.

The current ordinance has no penalties in place other than the cost of cutting the grass and a nominal administration fee. And there are no penalties for repeat offenders, said Sebra. The result is some residents take advantage of the town mowing their lawns, he noted.

Mayor Raymond Booth said the ordinance needs a “common-sense approach” so that a resident who usually keeps their lawn in order is not cited when they happen to be out of town on vacation for a couple of rainy weeks.

Booth also said the current $35 administration fee does not cover the actual costs of town employees’ time in dealing with offenders. He suggested $75 in administration fees, penalty fines starting at $100 for repeat offenders, and the cost of mowing.

“It’s not the people who can’t afford to cut the grass that are the offenders, but the people who can afford to cut it,” said Booth.

Commission member Denis Bouslough suggested graduated penalties that increase with each additional violation, while member Lindsy Gardner said the administration fee should not be set in the ordinance but adjusted by town officials to fit the situation.

Member Steve Bonner thought the penalty was too high and suggested starting at $75.

“We should keep the penalty separate from the cost of cutting,” said Gardner. “They should know it’s the penalty that gets them.”

Our goal is to get compliance, said Sebra. The ordinance “should be strong enough to deter them from doing it again. Over time things will improve. If it’s too lenient, they might want to let the town take care of it.”

Bouslough asked Sebra to come up with appropriate numbers and present it at next month’s commission meeting. Any ordinance changes must be approved by the town council.