RACINE, Wis. — Neighbors in Racine have been left frustrated after the city billed them hundreds of dollars for sidewalk repairs. However, the sidewalk repairs were completed years ago.
TMJ4's Jenna Rae was tagged in a post on Facebook after several neighbors said they got the letter which claimed to be from the city of Racine.
"I was at a loss for words," Sarah Bostic said.
"I was kind of frustrated," JoAnn Johnson added.
Bostic and Johnson both got letters in the mail, from the city of Racine, last week.
"Basically saying I had to pay $500 by September 15th for work that had been done for a sidewalk repair," Bostic explained.
Sticker shock for both Bostic and Johnson.
"I don't have that kind of money just to pay up in a couple months time, when they took their time to bill me," Johnson said.
Bostic's letter shows she owes just shy of $500, while Johnson owes almost $600. The letter also states that their payment is due by September, despite the city taking three years to bill them.
A spokesperson for the city of Racine said the letter is an invoice.
Watch: Racine neighbors billed for sidewalk repairs years after work was completed
"There's no service date, there wasn't any itemized information on what had been done or when, just this is what it is, this is the date, and this is the repercussions if you don't pay it," Bostic said.
Hefty repercussions include the amount owed added on to homeowner's yearly taxes, plus an added interest, if not paid on time.
Bostic thought she was the only one until she saw Johnson's post in a public group on Facebook. The same post Rae was tagged in.
Despite Bostic and Johnson living miles apart, their letters have the same contract number.
Bostic said she didn't even live at her home when the city claimed the work was completed.
"Somebody said you should call asap, I did. I had to leave a message. Someone did return my call. All they asked for was the year I bought the home, and my name and address, and they said 'okay, disregard'," Bostic explained. "I asked if I could get it in writing, and they said 'oh that will be going out'."
Bostic said she hasn't heard from the city since.
The city's spokesperson told us no one was available for an interview Thursday.
In an email, he told us invoices are sent to property owners after construction contracts are finalized and after the work is complete.
We're told the process of finalizing the contract took longer than expected and delayed letters to about 500 homeowners.
The spokesperson went on to say that Forward Construction performed the construction and was selected after a competitive bidding process through which they offered the lowest pricing for the work.
TMJ4 asked why it took the city of Racine three years to finalize the contract with Forward Construction and this is what we were told:
"This process involves extensive verification of paperwork to confirm, for example, the participation of Racine residents as construction workers on the project through the Racine Works program, and receipt of payments to subcontractors and suppliers from Forward Construction. For this particular project, that process took more time, partially due to disagreement on some items."
If you're a Racine resident and have concerns over this issue, reach out to Rae at Jenna.Rae@tmj4.com.
We're continuing to look into this and working to get neighbors itemized invoices of the work completed, which the city didn't provide to them.
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