Minutes - Council Work Session - 11/10/2008

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next year and asked if the City wants to pass something now about administrative fees, but not have it in effect until after it officially passes. Mayor Gamec stated that he thinks the City shoutd make sure there is legislative backing before it moves forward. Councilmember Dehen stated that he is in favor of as much administrative ticketing as can be done. He stated that although there is no legislative authority to do it, there are probably 150 cities that do administratively ticket certain offenses. Police Chief Way stated that he thinks the number of cities that do this is lower than 150, but noted that the City doesn't currently use them for moving violations. Councilmember Dehen stated that a typical speeding ticket that would just be paid off, are usually $45 tickets but the administrative charge the County takes is about $75 or $80, so, the City gets $15 to $20 back per ticket. He stated that the City is doing all the work on the ticket and only gets $15 back. He stated that it has been his contention that the City should at least recoup our costs and try to keep it out of the courts. He stated that the down side would be to have a law librarian say that the County is relying on the money from that to pay for other things. He stated that he feels like this is a game they are playing and thinks this may be an innovative way for the City to create more revenue. He stated that this would also help so officers don't have to sit in court all day. Mayor Gamec stated that he thinks some of the fees and charges should be reviewed to see what it really costs the City to process the tickets. Councilmembe,r Jeffrey stated that he doesn't oppose Councilmember Dehen's proposal but his concern is that if the City takes on our own administrative fines, it also takes on the collections process. Councilmember Dehen stated that his answer to that concern is that the administrative ticket would say you have 10 days, for example, to pay the ticket; if you don't do that, you will then have a regular citation and then they have the right to go to court and contest it. City Administrator Ulrich stated that this is exactly how it worked in Mounds View, where they, instead of a warning for a minor speed violation, issued an administrative citation, so it was a financial sting to people. He stated that it seemed helpful, especially with teenagers. Police Chief Way stated that they are out there to enforce safety, not to create revenue. He reiterated that it is important to know that this process is not for creating revenue for the City. Councilmember Elvig asked what the Council's role is in this. Police Chief Way stated that the Police Department needs support and to know that it will create a lot more paperwork, so it may involve additional staffing time. City Council Work Session / November 10,2008 Page 6 of9