BACK on November 18, 2014 in the SCR article ‘Sanctuary Point hoard returns after five months’, I was quoted, quite correctly, as saying that ratepayers had paid for the clean-up.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
As council staff and equipment were used, that statement was correct at the time of the clean-up. I was recently contacted by the owner of the property concerned.
She was quite upset and informed me she was in the process of actually reimbursing Shoalhaven City Council for the $9000 the original clean-up on her property cost.
I commend her for her doing that and wanted to pass the information on so ratepayers were aware they and council would not be footing the bill.
I should point out here, as I have previously, that the property owner isn’t the hoarder. That is a completely different person but, unfortunately, as the owner of the property, she is responsible for any debt that was incurred.
As I have also stated in the past, cleaning the property is just half of the solution. Hoarders obviously have a problem and until that is treated nothing will change and the hoarding will start over.
Does the responsibility for that treatment fall on Council? I seriously doubt it. The hoarder has to first admit that they have a problem and, until that happens they, once again unfortunately, won’t seek help.
L. Boucher,
Sanctuary Point.
