Two lines in a Craigslist ad placed last summer have a Redmond man on the hook for $500 with the Oregon Landscape Contractor’s Board.

In June, Roger Phillips posted an ad on the Bend Craigslist site, advertising his handyman and construction skills. The ad indicated Phillips could be hired to build decks and fences, install windows and doors, even build a complete home. It also included the claim that he could “fix that malfunctioning sprinkler head” or perform minor irrigation repairs, the statements that landed him in trouble with the board.

State law divides landscapers into two categories. Those involved in “landscape maintenance,” such as lawn mowing, tree trimming and laying down bark, do not require a specialized license. More intensive work generally requires a “landscape construction professional” license issued by the board.

State law permits an unlicensed landscaper to do some work that would ordinarily be restricted to licensed landscape construction professionals. Tasks performed by an unlicensed landscaper must be limited to “casual, minor, inconsequential landscaping work,” which includes the replacement of up to three sprinkler heads, be valued at less than $500, and be performed for a customer who primarily receives maintenance services from the non-licensed landscaper.

Phillips, a licensed contractor for more than 30 years, said his ad elicited no offers of work.

After several letters between Phillips and the board, the board agreed to reduce his fine to $125 if he discontinued the ad. Phillips pulled the ad, but he has so far declined to pay the fine. The matter has been turned over to a collection agency that intends to collect the full $500.

“It’s not the amount — though in my economy right now, $125 is a lot of money — but that was not the point,” Phillips said. “The point is, I did not advertise as a landscape contractor. I just do not feel that I violated any rules.”

In a letter sent to the board in July, Phillips described the policy as “blurry,” writing that he was confused at how the law could allow him to repair sprinkler systems, but not to advertise the service.

“Can you see that this makes no sense?” he wrote. “How is anyone to know I do this, and can do this legally, if I can’t say so in an ad, along with other services I can provide.”

Shelley Sneed, administrator for the Landscape Contractors Board, said the board considers the use of the terms “sprinkler” or “irrigation” in an ad as evidence of advertising oneself as a landscape contractor, regardless of what other services the ad may offer. The board employs one investigator who monitors Craigslist and other advertising media for violations of the advertising prohibition, Sneed said.

Under the law, those without a license may not use the term “landscape” or “landscaping” in an advertisement unless it is made clear the ad refers only to maintenance work.

About half the board’s enforcement actions begin with information uncovered by the investigator, Sneed said, while the other half starts with complaints filed by licensed landscape contractors.

Between July 1 and Oct. 31, the board imposed fines, suspended licenses, or declined to renew licenses for 132 companies.

Sneed said fines make up a relatively small part of the board’s budget, which includes no money from the state’s general fund. The board anticipates collecting $166,000 in penalties during the 2011-2013 biennium, she said, with the vast majority of the board’s $1.28 million coming from licensing fees.