The title pretty much sums it up. We have rats. They’ve been around for sometime, but they’ve gotten much worse in the past two years. They come out in the day now, nosing around the house looking for food. I feel bad for them because they look so vacant and move cautious and in jerky motions, but they’re still unobjectively undesirable. So I decided to take action. And chaos ensued. Not really, but it’s still none of the buenos.

Perhaps We Had Better Start from the Beginning

I heard that my city had a rodent control program. So I took a look at the city’s website to see if I could find some assistance for our rat problem, and found one. The site seemed helpful. They boasted exterminating close to 2.5k rats since 2024. I thought to myself, “this is just the type of assistance we need. Good job Bev.” Below is some sample text off the site which led me to believe I was going to receive assistance:

From the Website “it is possible to reduce their numbers by working together as a community to modify our habits. Mayor Cahill’s Office, the Health Department, and other City Departments are working together with residents, business owners, and community groups to promote a better understanding of rat behavior and how to minimize their presence.”

From the Website “Rodent Prevention

By working together, we can control and prevent rodent activity in the City of Beverly. The Beverly Health Department is soliciting the assistance and cooperation of all neighborhood residents and property owners to support the control and prevention of rodents by removing all conditions that support rodent activity, such as burrowing. Prevention is key to maintain the quality of neighborhoods!”

I thought it was strange that we could remove the conditions that lead rats to burrowing (remove the dirt?), but I decided to call the city and see what we could get for assistance.

Visit from The Health Dept.

When I called the city informed me a health inspector would come and inspect the property. I was optimistic and waited for the day.

When he came, he walked the premises and declared we had rats. I said Ok, and asked what the next steps were. He told me that he’d come to a final decision and let us know what the next actions were via email or mail. Happy with the answers thus far, we parted ways and I again, waited for his reply.

I believe it was a few weeks later when I received a copy of an, “Order to Correct” letter that was sent to my landlord from the city saying that they could be fined up to $500 for non-compliance. I was angry. I couldn’t believe what I was reading. After all the talk on their website about the city helping its citizens with a known rat infestation, me calling to ask for assistance, and the city sending a citation to my landlord who can’t receive aid because they don’t live on premises is a lack of accountability on the city’s part. And even if we were to get rid of the rats, they’d move right back in because the infestation is citywide. I was furious.

Meeting with the Mayor

I went to city hall a few days later to speak with the mayor, Michael Cahill about the issue. The constituents director informed me that Mike would be off site all week. I said I understand, I’ll be stopping by every day for an hour in the morning until I speak with the mayor, which I did. I also received the email addresses of the health inspectors superiors, who I had been emailing with about the matter in hopes to find some answers. I was met with hostility by one, saying that no one has ever complained about the program, and silence from all else save the constituents director. Regardless, I pushed on.

Constituent Consensus

I was told that Mike was willing to meet with me on Tuesday, July 27th. I agreed, and directly after went to the Beverly community Facebook page and asked if anyone had any questions they wanted me to ask. I got 70 responses within an hour all asking various questions. I made a note to tell this to the administration, to go on Facebook to get feedback since they made it a point to say that no one had complained about their methods. Here are the six questions I came up with:

Questions:

1. Why the dissonance between what’s written on the website and what is put into practice? I.e., it says on your website that you want to help, or at least that’s the impression you sent with the “kill count”, and the number to call with tips on rodent activity. But when I called you sent us a possible fine for $500 dollars. If you were in my shoes what would you think?

2. Do you have a PR department? How do you disseminate information in a manner that it will be consumed? Your twice a day phone calls about the trash and recycling program did not land as intended. Everyone I spoke with said they were tired of the phone calls after the first week. It may be the constituents responsibility to be active, but it also takes an honest effort to reach the citizens with methods and explanations of programs that aren’t ineffectual. Which means taking consensus and finding which outlets work best. Is there a business’ ad campaign that works well that we can adopt? We don’t need to reinvent the wheel to find what works.

3. Who comes up with the laws on how these types of situations are handled? I think you’ve been receiving the email threads that I’ve initiated. Laura Ricci brought up that, “There is standard, legal language we must include in every correction order. Our ultimate goal is compliance, not penalization.” If this is the case, who do we talk to to change the legal language to aid in solving the problem? Also, does “compliance” suggest obedience without representation? Laura made it clear that she believes this is “not my concern”, yet I’m living with the rats. I do not wish my neighbors, or landlord, to be fined for something that is equivalent to, “handing out speeding tickets in the Indy 500”  – Capt. Willard.

4. Where does the money received by the Health Dept. go? How is it allocated?

5. When I asked for a breakdown of the rodent program budget, I received a photo from Laura Ricci showing one line item that said A1 exterminators, $70k. Is it common practice for the city to hand over a sum of money that large without asking for an itemized receipt or how the funds will be put to use? And if so, does that mean that there is no further involvement with the program from the government? How are we getting updates, and what is the big picture plan and who is the architect?

6. I also felt as though Lara Ricci was being hostile towards me. I am asking in earnest to resolve this issue and I feel as though I’m being met with resistance. As though I shouldn’t be concerned with these types of situations. I don’t know Ms. Ricci’s motives because she asked to be taken out of the conversation after I explained I didn’t appreciate her tone. I’d like to keep these conversations as civil as possible and all inclusive, including Ms. Ricci. Your perspective is greatly appreciated.”

Meeting Day / Placate Date

I arrived at city hall at 9:30 and the meeting started immediately. It was nice the Mike was punctual, but that’s where the niceties stopped.

In the room was myself, Mike, and the constituents director. Mike seemed nice at first, so I dove in with the above questions. He didn’t respond in a coherent way to my first question. It seemed as though he were trying to formulate an idea, but couldn’t get past his first thought. I decided to move on, thinking maybe he needed some time to warm up, gather his thoughts. But I was met with more of the same.

I asked four more questions, and each time he tried to answer the first question again. He did make it a point to emphasize the contention between me and the director of public health, and that he thought it was completely within reason to send a corrective order to those who report rat sightings with executive function. But all of my other questions were met with, what felt like, passive aggressive blank stairs and condescending lack of concern.

I don’t want to be jaded, but the reason I say that Mike was possibly being passive aggressive and condescending is because he had no issues answering the questions that served him with clarity. Like in question three when I asked if he thought it was fair to send “orders to correct” he responded quickly, with a very clear, “yes, that seems perfectly reasonable.” Or bringing up the discord with his staff felt as though he were attempting to provoke and emotional response and distract me from the issue at hand. But to all my other questions he spoke to me in a patronizing, incoherent tone. And 30 minutes after the meeting, I saw Mike, sitting outside of a local coffee shop a few blocks away from city hall where he flashed, what I interpreted to be, a sly smile.

Back to the Community Board

It wasn’t until I revisited the website that I found these bits of information buried in small print on the brochures. It seems it hasn’t been updated since ’25, but the information was all there, but deceptively so. The below brochures explains “orders to correct” are possible, but done so in a proactive and upbeat tone. They’re placed under two free services and with a checkbox ticked off as if to say, “don’t worry, look at the services we’re providing for you!”. The packaging is misleading and the information definitely incomplete.

From the Brochure “Enforcement and Ticketing, Action: Orders to correct and fine for failure to address rodent harborage.”

Also From the Brochure “If you are a landlord who does not live in the affected area”

Maybe I’m being cynical, but these brochures are explaining and highlighting all the positive aspects of their program while glancing over the “order to correct”. Which if you are a renter, the landlord cannot receive these services. So the default action would be an “order to correct”.

“Handing Out Speeding Tickets at the Indy 500”- Capt. Willard

This seems to me to be putting a deceptively positive slant on the city administration’s attempt to avoid accountability for a citywide problem, without having a clear answer or plan to solve it, or explain it to its citizens. And they don’t extrapolate on what an “order to correct” entails until you get one. And that’s only after being lulled into thinking and feeling as though you’ll be helped and supported with the city’s services. If you’re eligible.

Also, about 40% of our city is occupied by renters. Which means that 40% of renters can call to report an issue, but that doesn’t guarantee that anything will come of it because they don’t have access to the city’s services by virtue of being a renter. And this possibly create tension between renters and their landlords. How would you feel if you got a letter saying you could be fined because someone reported you had rats?

Answers, Anyone? Anyone…

And this is where I sit. Outside on a beautiful day, about 75°, flowers are in bloom, with the scent of rat urine and feces wafting through the air. There is no plan that I’m aware of, or that the administration will share with me. I have no answers. When I reach out to the email addresses that I was given, no one responds. There is no recourse. We are adrift at sea, in a vessel, infested with rodents.

The only saving grace is that the few people I’ve met in the administrative office are good people. I plan on stopping by more frequently and giving them support. I know if I worked for Mike, I’d probably be miserable. Hopefully a little bit of support will help them get through their day, and who knows, maybe some of their kindness will rub off on Mike.

Peace & Thanks for Reading : )⛰️🌙🐀