12-09-2013 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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' MINUTES OF THE � ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday,December 9,2013 6:30 o'clock p.m. 18. ADMINISTRATIVE OFFENSES— RESOLUTION NO. 6356,ORDINANCE NO. 121 & SUMMARY ORDINANCE NO. 122 McMillan noted there was a recommendation to change recreation fires to open burning earlier this evening. McMillan asked if anything else should be changed in the ordinance. Levang stated she would like Chief Farniok to explain this item so the public has a good idea of why Orono is doing this. Levang indicated she understands other counties have adopted similar ordinances and that an explanation of the rationale would be good for the public Farniok stated approximately three years ago the Police Department started looking at this as an approach between a formal citation and a warning. The City of Mound currently uses administrative citations. Some of the officers are already familiar with using those and they saw it to be very effective in dealing with overweight vehicles. Farniok stated in lieu of a formal citation, which carries a$145 fine for a moving violation and the impact it has on a person's insurance record and insurance rates,this would give the police department the ability to have some discretion with it being a petty misdemeanor rather than a written warning or verbal warning. Farniok noted the City of Mound wrote approximately 20 civil ar administrative penalties and that the majority of those were paid within several weeks of the violation. Farniok stated this would give the City the ability to have a mid-range fine and provides the police officers with an option that provides a warning but does not impact a person's driving record and insurance. Farniok indicated they did look at what violations this could be applied to with the City Attorney to ensure they would not be violating any state statutes. Farniok noted the City of Corcoran has used it for a few years with good success. Levang asked for examples of when this would be used. Farniok stated it would not be used on speeding violations but would be used on overweight vehicles or inattentive driving and texting. Farniok indicated this would also eliminate the need for the officers to appear in court. Bremer stated they did discuss this at a couple of different Police Commission meetings and that Police Chief Farniok has done some research into this and would like to be on the same page as some of the surrounding communities. Farniok noted that Spring Park is also interested in adopting similar fines. Page 33 of 35