EDITORIAL: Shakedown in the California desert targets most vulnerable residents

When it comes to leading the nation in excessive and convoluted regulations, California wins the booby prize. And two cities in the California desert highlight how these policies often hammer the most vulnerable residents.

The Desert Sun newspaper recently reported that the cities of Indio and Coachella — lower-income communities in the Coachella Valley — have outsourced code enforcement to a private law firm that criminally prosecutes residents for violations of city ordinances. Consequently, Reason magazine points out, a small fine or a slap on the wrist can now result in a bill for tens of thousands of dollars.

Here’s how it works: When residents are cited for violations, they fix the problems and then pay standard fines of a couple of hundred dollars or so. A few weeks or months later, however, they receive bills in the mail for thousands of dollars from the private law firm with which the cities contracted to take them to court in the first place. All this occurs with virtually no judicial oversight.

As the paper reported, one man was fined $900 for adding on to his living room without a permit. A year after settling the assessment, he received a bill in the mail from Silver &Wright for $26,000. The firm threatened to slap a lien on his house if he failed to come up with the cash. When he appealed the fee, Silver &Wright charged him another $5,000 for the cost of defending against the appeal.

The paper found 18 such extortionate cases, including a $18,600 bill for overgrown grass, two broken windows and a “sun-damaged address number.” There was also a case involving a woman who was charged $2,700 for hanging Halloween decorations across a city street — a charge that jumped up to $4,200 when she challenged it. The paper also notes that the thousands of dollars in fees were the result of a single court hearing that lasted but a few minutes.

According to the Desert Sun, Silver &Wright specializes in helping cities target properties that violate codes. It also specializes in “ordinance drafting” and helped both cities craft new nuisance ordinances — ordinances that allow the firm to bill citizens directly for their own prosecutions without having to go through a judge. How convenient.

To pile conflict upon conflict, the Desert Sun reports that one of the firm’s partners is also a vice president for the California Association of Code Enforcement Officers — the professional association responsible for enforcing the laws tied to his firm’s billable hours.

Reason reports that Coachella officials are rethinking the abusive policy. But Mark Scott, Indio’s interim city manager and a council member, defends it, telling the paper that it was “getting results.” As long as the trains run on time …

This is a scam, pure and simple, a blatant municipal money grab that also lines the pockets of a well-connected law firm. A number of private attorneys, working on behalf of local residents caught up in all this, are now challenging the racket in court, the Desert Sun reports. Good. And the voters in these two cities could also do their part by turning out the local politicians who concocted this shakedown.