Published: Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Building code penalty is extreme, Koster says
The county councilman says he'll ask whether anything can be done about a $146,000 fine against a Tulalip couple.
TULALIP — A six-figure penalty against a family over building-code violations is at “the point of being ridiculous” and deserves a closer look, Snohomish County Councilman John Koster said Monday.
Koster said he'll be talking with the county's Prosecuting Attorney's Office about what they may be able to do about the $146,000 judgment pending against Fern and Clifford Bartholomew. The family lives in the Tulalip area, in his council district.
“This is really extreme,” Koster said.
It also appears they may be on the hook for even more money.
On Saturday they received a mailed notice from an Austin, Texas-based collection agency, Municipal Services Bureau, telling them they now owe $179,733.75 to Snohomish County.
The notice says the collection company accepts payment by all major credit cards and wire transfers. The letter does not explain why the amount increased.
“They really jacked that price up, big time,” Clifford Bartholomew said.
Christopher Schwarzen, County Executive Aaron Reardon's spokesman, said Monday he was unable to say when the case was sent to collections because the officials who could answer the question are on vacation.
The judgment stems from county fines the Bartholomews received after they built a house without getting permits on their rural five-acre property in 1980. That was shortly after they moved to the area from Alaska. A dozen years later, county code officers wrote them up for a host of violations, including the illegal house, not having permits for their wood stove and keeping old cars in their yard. Soon after, the county obtained a judgment against the family in Snohomish County Superior Court. They renewed that judgment in 2004.
The Bartholomews, who raised six boys at the house, say they initially didn't realize they needed building permits from the county. When they finally tore down the house in 2008, they thought that would make the judgment disappear.
“I kept calling (code-enforcement officials) and they said, ‘Satisfy everything and it'll all be gone,'” Fern Bartholomew said.
The family's case is one of more than 200 outstanding code-enforcement fines on record with the county. All told, those cases account for nearly $2.7 million in uncollected debt.
Officials from the county planning department, which oversees code enforcement, have agreed that the Bartholomews' fine is high. They said there isn't anything they can do because it's a court judgment.
The Bartholomews said county officials told them to hire a lawyer to resolve their situation. That's another expense they say they can't afford. Both are in their 60s and said medical problems during recent years have drained their finances.
“They told us we'd need to get a lawyer to negotiate it,” Fern Bartholomew said. “Why can't they negotiate it with us?”
A lien has prevented the couple from getting a loan to build a new home, even though they already obtained permits. Until the lien is resolved, they can't sell their property, either.
Noah Haglund: 425-339-3465, nhaglund@heraldnet.com.
Koster said he'll be talking with the county's Prosecuting Attorney's Office about what they may be able to do about the $146,000 judgment pending against Fern and Clifford Bartholomew. The family lives in the Tulalip area, in his council district.
“This is really extreme,” Koster said.
It also appears they may be on the hook for even more money.
On Saturday they received a mailed notice from an Austin, Texas-based collection agency, Municipal Services Bureau, telling them they now owe $179,733.75 to Snohomish County.
The notice says the collection company accepts payment by all major credit cards and wire transfers. The letter does not explain why the amount increased.
“They really jacked that price up, big time,” Clifford Bartholomew said.
Christopher Schwarzen, County Executive Aaron Reardon's spokesman, said Monday he was unable to say when the case was sent to collections because the officials who could answer the question are on vacation.
The judgment stems from county fines the Bartholomews received after they built a house without getting permits on their rural five-acre property in 1980. That was shortly after they moved to the area from Alaska. A dozen years later, county code officers wrote them up for a host of violations, including the illegal house, not having permits for their wood stove and keeping old cars in their yard. Soon after, the county obtained a judgment against the family in Snohomish County Superior Court. They renewed that judgment in 2004.
The Bartholomews, who raised six boys at the house, say they initially didn't realize they needed building permits from the county. When they finally tore down the house in 2008, they thought that would make the judgment disappear.
“I kept calling (code-enforcement officials) and they said, ‘Satisfy everything and it'll all be gone,'” Fern Bartholomew said.
The family's case is one of more than 200 outstanding code-enforcement fines on record with the county. All told, those cases account for nearly $2.7 million in uncollected debt.
Officials from the county planning department, which oversees code enforcement, have agreed that the Bartholomews' fine is high. They said there isn't anything they can do because it's a court judgment.
The Bartholomews said county officials told them to hire a lawyer to resolve their situation. That's another expense they say they can't afford. Both are in their 60s and said medical problems during recent years have drained their finances.
“They told us we'd need to get a lawyer to negotiate it,” Fern Bartholomew said. “Why can't they negotiate it with us?”
A lien has prevented the couple from getting a loan to build a new home, even though they already obtained permits. Until the lien is resolved, they can't sell their property, either.
Noah Haglund: 425-339-3465, nhaglund@heraldnet.com.
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