Guess someone at the paper went overboard with a filter list they never checked.

Man, that nursery guy gave you bad advice and I bet he knows it too. Here is the thing nobody talks about with figs in Phoenix: the problem is not the air temp, it is the root zone. Those trees can take 110 if their roots stay cool, but in a pot or in bare soil that bakes all day, the roots cook and the leaves go crispy no matter what variety you plant. So before you go buying a new tree, try mulching heavy around the base and watering deep in the early morning, you might be surprised what comes back next spring. As for types, hit up the local extension office list, they have tested stuff like Black Mission and Kadota here, but even those need that cool root zone to make it.

Did you ever try just paying it and fighting it after? Honestly that sounds like a nightmare and I see it the other way. If the plate is one digit off, that's clearly not your car, so why should you have to jump through hoops at all? The city should toss that on their own without you mailing certified letters and waiting almost three weeks. Tbh the whole thing bugs me because they make it easier to just hand over $140 than to prove you're right, and most people probably pay it.