During the regular February meeting for the Town of Bourbon, the Council discussed Ordinance Violation Processes and Procedures and how best to handle those by the Bourbon Police Department moving forward.
President Les McFarland brought the matter up for discussion.
Vice President Jonah Best said that Attorney Alex Hoover will communicate with Bourbon Police Chief Bill Martin on best practices for handling ordinance violations.
Clerk-Treasurer Kim Berger then asked for more details. Best deferred to Attorney Hoover regarding the Karen Holmes case.
Hoover explained that during the Holmes hearing it was questionable whether Holmes was provided with a five day notice to correct her situation. He noted that in the town’s nuisance statute there it is required that a violator be notified in writing of their violation and the five day grace period to rectify the violation without penalty. Berger stated that Holmes was issued a certified letter.
Attorney Hoover confirmed that all of that evidence was presented to the Judge but at the hearing Officer Ray Gleason could not recall whether or not he had waited the five days; the Judge did not rule in favor of the Town of Bourbon based on a lack of evidence that she was given appropriate notices.
Berger said, “So basically we should not do anything with these ordinance violations.” Best responded that it is a process issue. Berger added that the certified letter was sent out and since Officer Gleason didn’t ask for the letter it might not be a useful process and can be costly.
Attorney Hoover recommended that a written notice be provided by the serving Officer so that they can be called as a witness at the hearing.
Berger emphasized that when an Officer cannot reach an individual in person; it would seem that a certified letter will not hold up in court so questioned the purpose and efficacy of that particular process.
Hoover repeated that the Ordinance Violation should be in writing and ideally be delivered by an officer who can testify that they left the document at the residence. Hoover noted that leaving the notice in writing at the residence with or without a signature and with or without making actual contact with the individual constitutes notice in the court of law.
Berger addressed that the revenue generated from Ordinance Violation tickets (whether or not they go to court) should meet or exceed the cost of issuing them. “We spend a lot of money in court costs, nothing against you Alex, and we don’t recoup anything.”
McFarland responded, “You’ve got to do something though. You can’t just let it run wild.”
Berger then noted the unfairness to those individuals who come to the Town Hall to pay their fine right away who are obeying the law; as opposed to the other individuals who just let it ride and end up going to court with no remedy to the Town.
McFarland stated, “We just need to change our structure and tactics on it. Change, Kim. Adapt and overcome.”
Best summarized that moving forward the Town of Bourbon needs to learn from this and improve the process.
Chief Martin addressed the unreliability of the postal mail to explain why the violations are sent certified mail even though it costs more.
McFarland recommended that the ordinance violations be served by an Officer and by certified mail.
Hoover validated that additional notice wouldn’t hurt but if cost is a concern for the town an Officer serving the notice makes more sense than to mail it due to their ability to testify in court when it was served, where it was served and that it was served. The officer could also sign an affidavit.
Member Terry Clemens emphasized that no matter how the process is improved; the more thorough the documentation is the better off the Town of Bourbon will be in pursuing a remedy.
Chief Martin agreed to communicate with Attorney Hoover to establish best processes.
