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MINUTES OF THE <br />ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING <br />Monday, February 24, 20 20 <br />6 :00 o’clock p.m. <br />_____________________________________________________________________________________ <br /> <br />Page 2 of 15 <br /> <br />Walsh noted that Mr. Anderson is an outstanding supporter of the community. He presented Mr. <br />Anderson with a picture of him taking the oath as an LMCD representative. The City Council posed for a <br />picture with Mr. Anderson. <br /> <br />PRESENTATION <br /> <br />6. CITY PROSECUTOR ANNUAL UPDATE – STEVE TALLEN <br /> <br />Mr. Steve Tallen reported that nothing too unusual has taken place since his last report. His fees were <br />$32,592. The total revenue brought in from fines and bail forfeitures was $73,492.65. They are not in the <br />business of making money but are trying to administer things fairly. Sometimes fa ir means they pay a <br />fine; sometimes it means they do not. Overall, he hoped the numbers were satisfactory to the Council. <br /> <br />Mr. Tallen indicated he recently got a couple of new code enforcement items with one more pending. <br />Most people follow the rules. Whe n they don't, they get a letter/letters from City Staff, and they tend to <br />comply. If they don't, he gets involved and creates a criminal complaint. He noted there are quality of life <br />things that are important to the City. Sometimes when people don't like it, they call the newspaper and <br />there's an article in the newspaper. He said there are good lines of communication between the police <br />department and his office. There are cases like drunk-driving, theft, domestic assault, and traffic law but <br />no big cases. He prosecutes cases which can be punished up to a year in jail. <br /> <br />Walsh noted the City is very particular about having a very even-handed process when dealing with <br />people before it gets to Tallen. He asked whether Tallen had any insight as to how that has changed over <br />the last three years with respect to the Ordinance violations. <br /> <br />Mr. Tallen indicated he does not know what happened before he was there. His position is the City Staff <br />should do what they think they need to do to be fair and not make unreasonable demands of one person <br />while letting someone else in a similar situation off the hook, which has been the case since he started. <br />City Staff should try to resolve the problem. If they can't resolve the problem, then it gets sent to him. <br /> <br />Walsh said he is glad to hear Tallen thinks it's been even-handed because the City Council has made a <br />very conscious effort to make sure it is that way for everyone and people have to comply. <br /> <br />Mr. Tallen indicated his goal is to get compliance. He is not going to get a judge to put someone in jail for <br />30 days because they didn't pull their garbage cans back from the street. However, he might get a judge to <br />fine them. When citizens realize it is a serious matter, most people will say, "Okay." He tries to get some <br />nominal fees from them so there's a consequence for ignoring previous atte mpts. <br /> <br />Crosby said Tallen has the benefit of working with other cities and knowing what processes work more <br />effectively. <br /> <br />Mr. Tallen stated each city has a slightly different approach. His goal is to try to convince people to <br />comply. If not, everyone has a right to a trial. <br /> <br />7. LONG LAKE FIRE DEPARTMENT UPDATE – JAMES VAN EYLL <br /> <br />Chief James Van Eyll echoed Crosby's sentiments regarding Mr. Anderson/North Shore Marina's <br />generosity. He thanked Mr. Anderson for giving the fire department $500 at the end of December.