Ask Mr. Answer Person: Why do so many Decorah residents not shovel their sidewalks?

(John e-mails: "Why do so many of the residents of the City of Decorah think they DO NOT need to shovel their sidewalks?  With the City of Decorah's new infatuation with sidewalks, maybe we should concentrate more on taking care of the sidewalks we have rather than worrying about places that have never had sidewalks.  As a resident who walks around town a great deal of time for a variety of reasons, it amazes me how many people do not bother to even try to remove the snow from their sidewalks (just dumping a bag of ice melt does not count as shoveling!)"):

Mr. Answer Person says: "Your e-mail comes at a good time—Decorah Mayor Lorraine Borowski has just issued an appeal to the public to get their shovels out. Decorah's city code states, 'If the owner fails to (shovel their sidewalk) within a reasonable time, the city clerk may have the natural accumulations of snow or ice removed without notice to the property owner. The city clerk shall give the council an itemized and verified statement of the costs and a legal description of the property. The costs shall be assessed against the property as taxes.'

The recent snowfall pretty much melted on its own in a few days, but the next time there's a heavier snowstorm, maybe some snow removal bills added to property taxes would make residents more serious about getting out their snow shovels."