LINCOLN - Stiffer fines may be in store for Lincoln residents who don't keep their gutters and alleys clean.

The City Council will vote Monday on amending the ordinance to impose higher fines for residents who allow their landscape waste or leaves to accumulate in city gutters.

Currently, residents can be fined from $25 to $100 for each offense. Those fines will rise to a minimum of $50 and a maximum of $400 for each offense.

"I get neighbors calling on neighbors for these problems, and I am getting chewed out for not doing anything about it," Streets and Alleys Superintendent Tracy Jackson said at Tuesday night's City Council committee meeting.

City police are in charge of enforcing the measure.

Aldermen said they were concerned that leaves and landscape waste would clog the city's sewer system.

"We have to have the higher fines so that the residents know we mean business," said Alderman Marty Neitzel.

The council considered placing a specific fine for each offense, but city attorney William Bates suggested the sliding scale.

"I think you would be better off with a wide range such as the $50 to $400 fine," Bates said. "That will allow me to escalate the fines upwards for multiple offenders."

There is no change to the wording of the current ordinance. It states that any person owning any lot or parcel of land adjoining any public or private alley must keep it clean. That includes removing anything that would impede the free flow of water.

Myers Industries update

Joel Smiley, the executive director of the Lincoln and Logan County Development Partnership, told the council he is trying to find out information about the closing of a Lincoln factory.

Myers Industries, which had about 100 employees at the start of the year, is apparently closing, although officials at the factory have not confirmed it.

In February, it was sold to the Quincy-based Huck Group, Inc.

"I have made a contact with someone fairly high up in the company in Quincy, and we are in the process of setting up a meeting," Smiley said.

"I have a couple of concerns and we need some information," he said. "First, I want to know what is going to happen to the building, and I would like to be able to offer some assistance from the state work force development group to help out the families of the employees."

Smiley said a date for the meeting has not yet been set, but once the meeting takes place, he will update the board on the developments.