Pesos Prompt Police Participation In Payment Rejection
March 23, 2011 9 Comments
Image via Wikipedia
Recently, a resident of the City of Sunnyside received a utility bill from the city, and being a responsible person, promptly paid it. The city was kind enough to put a notice in Spanish on the bill, notifying the resident of the due date for payment. This was encouraging to the resident, who happened to have some extra Mexican Pesos laying about, and enjoys living in a city that is sensitive to people of diverse backgrounds. The resident made their payment at City Hall, and went about their business unaware of the pending police visit they were about to receive.
Billing From the City Includes Both English and Spanish Information
What the resident did not know, however, is that the Chief of Police would be dispatched to hunt them down for the heinous act of paying the bill in such currency. The City Manager penned a letter to the resident, declining acceptance of the payment, and threatening to tack on additional fees if they did not render unto Caesar in U.S. dollars. Here is a copy of the letter:
Mark Gervasi's Letter Delivered Under Armed Messenger
Attempts to reach City Manager Mark Gervasi with questions regarding payment policies for utility bills, taxes, and fees were unsuccessful this week. It is not clear if the city has any formal policy regarding payments made by residents, or when such a policy may have gone into effect. It is also not known if the police will be dispatched for anyone else seen flashing pesos within city limits.
Related Articles
- Mexico peso jumps, helped by rising U.S. stocks (reuters.com)
- Mexico currency law makes it tougher to pay in dollars (usatoday.com)
About Jason R. Raines
Eagle Watch
jimsweb.net
I’m not sure “flashing pesos” is quite the same as using a foreign currency to pay bills. I would think that American citizens still have the freedom to reject or accept payment in a form that is not of American issue. A government or quasi-government entity certainly does.
I would hope that political correctness hasn’t gotten to the point where Mexican pesos and American dollars are seen as “morally equivalent”; some of our courts are getting there with Shari’ah law versus American law, and that’s a bad example that leads to just this kind of thing.
Eagle Watch,
Thanks for commenting. Maybe the city could add the phrase “Make payment in U.S. dollars” to its billing statements. I already see this on many of my personal bills.
I guess I have missed the point here. Why is this such a big deal? Why was this person wasting our tax dollars by forcing the City to deal with this. The City has more pressing business to attend to. You (and the perpetrator, I know who he is) are always holding the City accountable for wasting money, yet this dude is doing just that.
This is America. We have a legal currency. Use it. This person was obviously too lazy to convert the currency himself so he tried to pass this task off on the City. He should be sent a bill for the City’s time and effort wasted on such a smart assed prank.
Jason, why are you making such a big deal out of it? This isn’t news. This is about some dope getting his hands slapped and then trying to garnish support for his wrong doing. Shame on you. You fell for it.
It must be a slow news day.
Nate Bridges
I appreciate your comment Nate. You and I share the opinion that this is not a big deal. However, I don’t believe this required a police response.
Having retail experience myself, I have declined foreign currency as a form of payment without calling the police. Just sayin’.
To quote Nate Bridges: “…holding the City accountable for wasting money…” , exactly! Nate has it EXACTLY correct! Residents are asking why is the City wasting money having the Chief deliver an unaccepted payment to a taxpayer. Is this standard protocol? The job description of the Chief of Police in Sunnyside WA is to deliver refunds? Is this the policy of the City when they have to make a refund? Does crime in our streets and analyzing the myriad of criminal scheming and tactics a lower priority in the crime-ridden City of Sunnyside? Who is running the Store? The City should apologize to Chief Radder for delegating this demeaning and ridiculous duty to him.
United We Stand
Jim Stevens
Jason, I think you are missing the point. The City Manager wanted to ensure that the money was delivered to the correct person. I don’t know about you, but what safer person than your Chief of Police to act as a courier for money, regardless of the type of currency, it still has value. Knowing the City Manager as I do, I don’t believe for a minute, this was a case of “calling the police”.
Jim,
Thanks for offering your perspective.
Jason,
Thanks for posting this…it was good for a chuckle. Does seem a little silly that the city manager wrote the letter and the chief of police delivered it. I guess that’s a small town for ya…
Thanks for the thoughts Cameron,
I am thinking it was a little bit of overkill in the response myself.