09-23-09 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES CITY COUNCIL SEPTEMBER 23, 2009 suggestions by State officials that the use of administrative fines was not authorized under State Law. During the past legislative session law was passed authorizing the use of administrative fines on a limited basis for such violations as minor speeding (less than 10 miles per hour over limit), stop line violations and loud equipment issues. The law authorizes fines of $60 with $40 to go to the local government and $20 to the State. If citations are issued by the State Patrol, then the distribution is $40 to the State and $20 to the local government. The Administrator reported that the group of cities contracting with the Ramsey County Sheriff s Department for police services would like to pursue administrative fines on a uniform basis among the cities. The consensus of the contracting group would be that the Sheriff s Department collects the fines and uses the revenue as a credit back against the budget. The goal would be to have this system in place by January 1, 2010. The City Administrator noted that the City Attorney has put together the documents necessary to enact the administrative fine process. The goal this evening is to discuss the Council's position on this issue. The Administrator noted that there is also the opportunity to expand the administrative fine program beyond just traffic violations and include code enforcement violations. Blesener noted the hearing officer process for people to appeal an administrative fine and noted the cost associated with that process. The Administrator indicated that cities that have been using the administrative fine process have not had a lot of contested cases. He noted that the goal of the contracting cities would be to share a hearing officer and set up an efficient process for processing appeals, thus keeping the cost at a minimum. Keis noted the ability to address local ordinance violation issues with administrative fines, and asked if the contracting group is anticipating a uniform approach for these types of violations. The Administrator indicated that this issue was not discussed by the contracting group, and indicated that he would raise it at the next meeting. Keis asked the amount of revenue that might be expected from these fines. The Administrator reported that Mounds View was collecting approximately $50,000 per year, but his estimate for Little Canada would be closer to $10,000. Keis asked if administrative fines would be helpful in addressing code enforcement issues. The Administrator reported that the City Attorney feels the fines would be helpful to a certain degree. It was also noted that if an administrative tine is not paid, the City can issue a criminal citation. 4