Florida woman fined over $90k for stagnant pool in home.

A Florida woman thought she was being scammed when she received a letter imposing a fine of over $90,0000 for stagnant pool and overgrown grass in her property located in Dunedin, a small seaside city outside Tampa.

Kristi Allen received the letter saying she owed $92,600 in fines for overgrown vegetation and a stagnant swimming pool at a house she no longer owned and given two weeks to pay. 

The letter further hinted that she could be sued if she didn't pay. The debt ballooned to $103,559 Including interest charges and other fees about twice her yearly income. 

Three months later the city of Dunedin sued to collect, setting off a legal fight. 

The local governments have been accused of using their power to impose heavy fines on citizens in America. 

The Supreme Court ruled in February that local governments can't impose excessive fines after residents put up a fight challenging potentially bankrupting fines. 

Fines are a reliable source of revenue for cash-starved cities, and have become a big – and rapidly growing – business for local governments. States, cities and counties collected a total of $15.3 billion in fines and forfeitures in 2016, according to the most recent financial records collected by the U.S.