City vs. County

Do you know what happens when you don't take care of your property?










The house across the street had been occupied by renters for the past year. They had taken decent care of the property until close to when they moved out. When they left, they hadn't mowed the lawn in weeks and there was trash everywhere. An old junker car was left in the driveway also. Next thing we know, there are notices posted on the house.

Being the nosy neighbor that I am, I had to go and see what was going on. It appeared that the County Inspector had driven by and issued citations for the condition of the property. One for the abandoned vehicle and an old pool that was in the backyard and one for the rubbish. (What we don't know is if someone called in and complained or the Inspector just happened to be in our area)

The next day I saw the inspector over there taking pictures, so I went over to talk to him. I was told that the owner had until Monday (this was on Fri.) to clean up or the County would hire someone to do it for her at her expense. He told me not to worry, they wouldn't allow our area to look like that for long. (I wasn't really worried, just curious)

Just so you know the rest of the story - the Owner showed up over the weekend and did some major yardwork and removed some of the trash. I really don't know where it stands now. Obviously the grass is long again since then.

Anyway - the whole story leads me to "City vs. County" What really are the differences? My subdivision is not St. Charles City zoned. We are only residents of the County.

Here is what I have noticed:
-Our subdivision is plowed sooner than "City" streets sometimes.
-We have a choice in our Trash Collector - the City residents must use a company through the City.
-Our Sales tax rate for new vehicles is less than in the city limits.
-The Inspectors still make people follow rules - ie. the property across the street, and our next door neighbor had to remove their camper recently.

It seems to me that we are better off not being incorporated into the City limits. I had always thought it was a disadvantage, but since we have lived here, I haven't found one.

Anyone have any comments on this one?? I am really curious of other differences I haven't noticed....