1. It is the responsibility of the property resident/property owner to maintain property up to the edge of the street or the curb.   This includes removal of litter, mowing, removal of stagnant water or items that may retain stagnant water, and any other property maintenance issues.  

2. If property is not maintained, it becomes an issue for the City of Hope Code Enforcement Department.  In 2020, the City of Hope addressed and resolved 588 Code Enforcement cases, more than 86% were tall grass, weeds, and rubbish.  In case that you might think that was an atypical year, in 2019 Code Enforcement dealt with and resolved more than 630 cases, 87% of which were tall grass, weeds, and rubbish.  Arkansas law requires that the City notify property owners before completing an enforcement action.  Property owners must be notified by certified mail and have 7 days after receipt of the notice to complete the work and avoid enforcement.  Unfortunately, that may mean as many as three weeks between mailing the notice and acknowledgement that the property owner has been legally notified.  That’s a long time, especially if you’re looking at an overgrown lot next door.

3. Garbage bags will be distributed this year.  They were not initially included in the 2021 Sanitation Budget, but the City of Hope Board of Directors considered and passed a sanitation rate increase on April 20, 2021 and garbage bags have been ordered and will be distributed in mid-May to all residential customers.  

4. The City of Hope picks up large debris and rubbish each week on Wednesdays, except for holiday weeks.  Please call the Public Works Department for pickup at 870-777-8644.  Please place the item(s) at the curb no more than one day before pickup.  

5. Our Citywide Cleanup scheduled for April 17th was postponed due to factors beyond our control.  Our grapple truck was involved in a serious accident on April 13th and is not roadworthy.  While it’s unfortunate that our truck is out of service, it is not practical to try and move large quantities of rubbish and debris by hand.  Our Sanitation Department will try and keep up with smaller quantities of rubbish. We will reschedule the Cleanup Day.  We do plan to have two cleanup days this year, just as we usually do.  City staff like to keep the City looking clean as much as our citizens like to have the City cleaned up.

6.  How can you as a resident of Hope help to keep the City looking its best?

• Do place your garbage out for pickup at the appropriate time.  Garbage bags left out for several days can be torn open by roaming animals and create unsightly litter.

• Don’t place trash in the bed of a pickup truck.  It blows out and creates litter along the streets and highways.

• Do cleanup your property on a regular basis; mow your grass, pickup litter in your yard, and park in your driveway.

• Volunteer with civic or community groups that pick-up trash along streets and roadways.  These include groups from HAPS, Civitan, Kiwanis, as well as others.  If your group would like to schedule a trash pickup, please contact Nathaniel Holyfield at 777-8644 and the City will provide trash bags for the event.