Parry Teasdale is reporting in The Columbia Paper the village of Chatham has decided to enforce a 1989 law requiring property owners to clear snow and ice from their sidewalks within 24 hours after a storm. Teasdale writes the law has not been enforced during the recent past and possibly never was, until February 9, that is. As of that date, the village mailed notices to 70 residents advising them that because they had not cleared their sidewalks by the 24-hour deadline, they were being charged for the cost of the village clearing the walkways. The amounts levied varied from $75 to $110. “We got a lot of complaints,” Chatham Mayor Tom Curran told village residents who attended the March 8 village board meeting. “I feel like we could have done it better,” he said. Curran said he is in the process of calculating the cost of having the village clear the sidewalks all the time. “It would mean an increase in taxes,” he said. The mayor said the board will form a committee to consider how to keep the sidewalks clear and then adopt new rates. Read the full story in The Columbia Paper.