CHICKASAW, Ala.\u2014Shaquala Jackson\u2019s three-year-old daughter screamed. A rat was scurrying across the bathroom floor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI grabbed the kids and ran out of the house,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jackson said that was the day she knew she and her three young children could no longer live in Chickasaw, a small suburb just outside Mobile. The rats, she knew, were likely a result of the trash piling up in the carport adjacent to her rented home. But there was little Jackson felt she could do to fix the root problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The city wouldn\u2019t pick up her trash. And it had charged her with \u201ctheft of service\u201d over monthly garbage bills she couldn\u2019t pay. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jackson\u2019s case is one of more than 180 incidents where Chickasaw residents have been criminally charged over past-due garbage bills since city leaders passed an ordinance<\/a> allowing the practice in March 2021. The ordinance provides a mechanism for city officials to issue a criminal summons or arrest a resident who falls behind on bills for garbage or sewer\u2014the most basic municipal environmental services\u2014provided by the city\u2019s utilities board. Conviction under the ordinance could result in an order of restitution payments, a fine of between $25 and $500, and jail time of up to 10 days, according to the law\u2019s text. <\/p>\n\n\n\n