Written by by Jim Hᴏft at thegatewaypundit.com
In a controversial move, the City of Madras is proposing a new policy that would levy fines against grocery stores for shopping carts that are stolen and found near homeless camps, according to a report by Central Oregon Daily News.
Local grocery stores acknowledge the issue but are divided on the solution.
Kevin Eidemiller, co-manager of Ericksons Thriftway, expressed his frustration to Central Oregon Daily, “We’ve had close to probably 70 to 100 carts stolen in the last two years. At least once a week to every other week, we go hunting for our own carts.”
The City made contact with grocery stores late last year to prompt action to retain carts on the property.
Nicholas Snead, Madras Community Development Director, highlighted the need for a resolution: “When we started to see the relationship between shopping carts not being kept on the retailer’s property and then being used in ways that weren’t intended, we thought we needed to start figuring out a way to solve this problem.”
Despite these discussions, the city has seen no significant improvement, leading to the drafting of a new proposal. “If the shopping cart is not on the property, it’s a $100 offense,” said Snead.