There may not be snow on the ground yet, but the City of Austin is reminding citizens of snow removal procedure before the first big accumulation.

Property owners must remove snow from sidewalks within 24 hours of snowfall. Those who do not remove all snow and ice will be charged 50 cents per linear foot for the city to remove the snow. If the bill isn’t paid, their property is assessed for that amount.

“The majority of those people will pay that bill upon receiving it,” city engineer Jon Erichson said Monday.

Erichson said the city billed approximately 100 parcels last winter for snow removal, and pointed out last winter had more snow than usual. The city also declares snow emergencies by notifying media when they are in effect. This means residents should park on odd sides of the street on odd days, and even sides of the street on even days from 8 a.m. to 8 a.m. the following day to allow snowplows to drive through. In downtown commercial areas, there is no parking from 1 a.m. to 8 a.m. during a snow emergency.

If residents don’t comply with the parking rules, Erichson said, “you will be ticketed or towed.”

Citizens should refer complaints about unshoveled sidewalks to the public works department.