Laserfiche WebLink
Page 2 <br /> City Council Minutes <br /> July 13, 1994 <br /> misdemeanor penalty to the seller but there is no penalty to the <br /> tobacco license holder. The revised ordinance provides for <br /> penalties to both the seller and the license holder. <br /> City Attorney Filla explained that the revised ordinance is <br /> similar to that of other cities because it provides first for <br /> administrative fines rather than taking the seller and /or the <br /> vendor through an expensive court misdemeanor process. He <br /> further explained that this system would apply only to situations <br /> where tobacco had been sold to a minor as a part of city <br /> compliance checks and police reports of crime, not to individual <br /> complaints. Fake ID's are not used in compliance checks. <br /> Councilmember Hustad commented that there seemed to be a large <br /> jump in penalties between the third offense (5 day revocation) <br /> and the fourth offense (license revocation) for license holders. <br /> He wondered if the city could have any flexibility in determining <br /> the length of the revocation. <br /> Councilmember Jacobs stated that he believes the proposed <br /> penalties are too lenient. He suggested that a fine and <br /> suspension be the penalty for a second violation within 12 months <br /> and revocation be done for the third violation in 12 months. <br /> The Council debated several alternative penalty systems for <br /> license holders with respect to number of compliance checks, fine <br /> amounts, and suspension lengths. The Council asked staff to <br /> reword the ordinance to the following penalties for vendors: 1) <br /> first offense, $200 fine; failure to pay in 30 days results in 2 <br /> day suspension; 2) second offense, $500 fine and a five day <br /> suspension of license; failure to pay in 30 days results in a 10 <br /> day suspension; and 3) third offense, revocation for up to one <br /> year. The penalties for the seller would be a $25 fine on the <br /> first violation, a $100 fine for the second violation, and <br /> prosecution of a gross misdemeanor on the third violation, all in <br /> a twelve month time frame. The ordinance will be reworded for <br /> consideration at the Council's next meeting. All tobacco vendors <br /> in the City will be notified of the date, time, and subject of <br /> the meeting. <br /> Councilmember Jacobs asked if there was some way that the city <br /> could reward those license holders that consistently pass their <br /> compliance checks, perhaps by lowering the establishment's <br /> tobacco license fee. Administrator Hoyt responded that license <br /> fees are not punitive; they reflect the real costs of <br /> administration and compliance checks. There may, however, be <br /> alternative methods of recognition, i.e. publicity, that could be <br /> employed. <br /> PROPOSED RIDE ALONG PROGRAM FOR THE FIRE DEPARTMENT <br /> Administrator Hoyt explained that the fire /rescue department <br /> would like to provide opportunities for citizens to ride along in <br /> 4 <br />