Minutes 11-09-2017 - Laserfiche WebLink

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7 Chapter 1 Penalties- The Board indicated it may not be comfortable with violations of county ordinances resulting in a $500 fine and 30 days in jail. Reducing the penalties here will reduce the penalties for all those ordinances that don’t have a specific penalty included within their terms. Commissioner Price said her concern with this one is that it sounds like the County is creating a debtors prison. John Roberts said each offense is a separate offense, and could result in thousands of dollars. He does not think that jail time has ever been imposed. Commissioner Jacobs asked if this has been changed anytime recently, because he thought the BOCC objected previously to a $500 fine, and changed the wording to “not to exceed $500.” John Roberts said some ordinances have individual penalties, and this is the general catchall penalty for the entire ordinance. He said some other individual ordinances specify certain terms. Commissioner Jacobs said all should say up to $500, or 30 days in jail, as this gives the BOCC discretion. Chair Dorosin asked if these penalties always come back to the Board, or only if the offending party decides to make an appeal. John Roberts said these penalties do not come back to the Board unless there was an amendment, and he provided an example of violations of the solid waste ordinance due to a lack of permit, and there was a $500 fine for each day of continued violation. He said this rose to tens of thousands of dollars in fines. He said the case was ultimately settled, permits obtained, and a much lesser amount of fees paid. Commissioner Marcoplos clarified that one could receive a $500 fine and 30 days in jail for putting the wrong type of insulation in a wall, that may have gone unnoticed. John Roberts said this is on here for discussion because the Chief Building Inspector said this ordinance has never been enforced during his 14-year tenure, and it would be difficult to do so due to substantial changes in state law since the ordinance was implemented. Commissioner Marcoplos said what happens to these types of laws. John Roberts said laws remain until they are repealed, and he did not know that this was not being enforced. Commissioner Rich asked if there is a reason to have an ordinance that is not being enforced, or cannot be enforced. Chair Dorosin said this is the point of the discussion, and this specific example is recommended for repeal. Commissioner Price said if this item is going to remain, then the fine should be up to $500 and up to 30 days in jail. John Roberts said that is the general penalty right now, and if the Board wants him to look at other ordinances that do not include “up to” language, he can do so and bring those back as well to repeal or amended. Commissioner Price asked if there is someone responsible for determining penalty or jail time. John Roberts said it depends on the type of offense. He said the department director would determine a civil penalty, and a judge would determine a criminal penalty in the court system. Commissioner Price asked if this is true of jail time as well.