City workers or the city should take responsibility when their digging ends up damaging a resident’s fence, causing their dog to escape (since they didn’t bother to inform the resident of the gaping hole in the back fence their digging equipment caused when a water main broke behind the fence). They left, without a word and I let out my dog as I always do, not knowing the back fence was torn up, and the ground next to it was a huge deep hole. the workers left without telling me even though they knew I had a dog because I had to get him in when they wanted to come into my backyard to find where all the water was coming from and I emphasized the importance of them closing the gate back as they found it. So after I found the damage and had to get my dog back in, which is not easy. I called, and the city sent someone who I spoke to briefly who tried to tell me my fence was like that before. That is a lie.
I was under chiropractic care at the time for a terrible back spasm, and yet when the dog got out, i had to do my best to try to tie down the pulled-up section of the fence and patch up the other areas where the ground was dug out right beside the fence, while in pain. I did the best I could with what I had available and still the dog got out again, and the city did nothing. The weekend came with no word from the city, and I had to hire someone to replace the back section for $1400 that I needed for something else. The fence had to be installed a few feet forward because the ground was so dug up next to the original section.
The fence was old, and I wanted to replace it at some point, however, I am a senior and I needed to pay for some serious electrical work in this old house, and I had already spent money for metal grids all along the fence bottom to keep the dog from digging under. After the city finished digging those grids were disturbed and there was no other way to keep my dog in than to replace the back section.
Because my fence was old, I only asked for half the cost to be reimbursed. The city has INSURANCE for things like these, but like most insurance companies they try to get out of it. But there is NO EXCUSE for the worker lying to the city and the insurance company that my fence was torn up like that before they did their digging.
I have lived and worked in this city most of my life. My parents paid taxes, my mother until she was 98, and I pay taxes, and there is no excuse to treat me like this.
Now it looks like I will have to go to the trouble of filing a claim, and that will cost the city more. How much sense does that make?
By the way, the neighbors beside and behind me saw what they did to my fence and another neighbor was pissed off about my dog getting out — twice — and almost called the dog catcher. That would have helped things, wouldn’t it? The upset neighbor stopped by while the workers were putting up my fence to complain about my dog running loose, thinking they were the ones living here. Several months ago I went to a great deal of trouble and some expense to secure the perimeter of my entire with grids, chicken wire and adding an extra fence section I had used for a small area in the yard so my dog wouldn’t dig under and escape or get through gaps, so the city needs to explain how he got out if my fence was like that before. The lying is unacceptable.
And, even though I have been here only 3 years, the first year I had to fight the city’s lying that the backed-up water into my bathroom and kitchen was not their responsibility. It WAS. They gave the cable company permission to bury a cable in the part of my front yard that is the right of way. I didn’t know until I hired someone to come deal with the problem who realized the cable had broken off the end of my sewer pipe, and the pieces had fallen in front partially blocking it. He used an optic and found the damage right where the flags showed where the cable was buried. I finally got the one responsible to pay, after wasting hours and days of time and mopping up water that damaged my flooring, etc — and having to deal with workers and pay them- and having to figure out what happened- because the CITY sure as hell wasn’t going to disclose this cable THEY gave permission to be buried as being the cause of the damage.
We pay our government and they have a duty to be fair and protect us and our property. I should not have had to deal with any of this.
Susan Vaughan
This is the same thing the CITY did to my property ( minus the dog)
How many of us have had the same problem with the city doing damages and then do not repair the damage and cost the homeowner money to repair the CITYs damages to the home owner’s property
We got the fence company the city INSUR person told us to use ( after the city put up a junk piece of fencing ) that wasn’t acceptable
50 feet of chain link fencing ripped up and taken by the city
Also 50 + years of trees ( rose of Sharon trees , heirloom roses) all ripped up by the roots and destroyed – they were inside my fence put up more than 50 years ago but still good shape and intact – they made things better than they do now
The new fence ( the city told me to get this company) cost this retired citizen $2000 dollars
and deal with the MESS the city left me ( the grass is dead – hard clay packed soil you can’t even dig a hole in it- The trees and plants I can’t afford to replace You can look on the sky view from the city on the planning website and see the prior landscape before the city destroyed my fence and landscaping
The city is discriminating against older citizens and lower income residents and denying their claims of damages
I could almost guarantee the city would replace fencing and landscaping if I lived on Cornwallis dive
But not it the Mill district ( an area the city wants residents to invest in now)
I moved back to my family home invest in the home
But if the city doesn’t take care of the damages they do to a home owners property
these areas will never be able to be turned around as the city wants to improve
The trees were as tall as the power lines planted by now deceased father and mother at least 50 years ago
The fence the city ripped up was on my property but they were aggravated the water line busted on FATHERS DAY and the city let water flood everything for at least 6-8 hours before they started
Then a month later the water line busted again in the corner – the city had fixed this area months prior – guess their repair back then was not a good job
So this is when the aggravation goes the best of the low paid workers and they ripped up all landscaping and fencing in a 50 foot area
The busted water line on Father’s Day they took some care not to damage everything ( 5 foot area) but after the second trip to fix another break think the said the hell with it and took absolutely no care at all for my property
The last thing – when the new fence company came they said the city could have just detached my old fence still in good shape and could have still been used and fixed
City took NO CARE and wasn’t concerned about the damage
They refused to cover or do anything – even covering the cost of the new fence they directed me to use $2000
Like I said – exactly the same thing happened to me minus the dog
You’re in good company, Susan. I have dealt with the City on a few occasions and have been lied to each time. Or have had the full truth omitted from the conversation. But in every case, including yours, accountability is the issue; no one wants to take responsibility for their actions. Worse, the injured party has no idea who to contact for results. They always pass the buck, “call this number” or get in touch with so and so. But when you do, there is no response. City supervisors need to reprimand their employees (not fire them) to ensure the error does not reoccur. As a former supervisor, my subordinates were informed of their mistake and told not to do it again. It was that simple. And as a supervisor, I would contact the necessary people to have the property restored to its original state. We’re only human. Just don’t make the same mistake twice.
Tell it!
Government is unethical and amoral.
Always.
And don’t bother complaining to your “representative” on the Grand High City Council. You will find they have no time for the peons of their fiefdoms. Unless you have $$$ they show very little, if any, support.
I had a similar problem when I lived in town (she was actually our 70 y.o. very sweet landlady) and after several trips to High Council meetings, letters, and a friend who was a lawyer we finally got her justice.
How true it is, “all politics are local”. The next time your council rep is up for election, make sure you post an article on every site you can, to highlight how your rep doesn’t work for you.
That’s f@@@@ up