Agenda - Council - 11/10/1997 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Section 1200 Violations. (Note: This Section attempts to implement the administrative penalty provisions now required by State law.) ~. Upon discovery of a suspected violation, the alleged violator shall be issued, either personally or by mail, a citation that sets forth the alleged violation and which shall inform the alleged violator of his or her right to be heard on the accusation. Subd. 2 Heafin~s. Ifa person accused ofviolhting this ordinance so requests, a hearing shall be scheduled, the time and place of which shall be published and provided to the accused violator. Subd, 3 Heating Officer. (Note: Fill in the blank) shall serve as the hearing officer. (Note: The county board, city council, town board, or an independent hearing officer or hearing panel can be appointed.) Sub& 4 Decision. If the hearing officer determines that a violation of this ordinance did occur, that decision, along with the hearing officers reasons for finding a violation and the penalty to be imposed undei' Section 1300 of this ordinance, shall be recorded in writing, a copy of which shall be provided to the accused violator. Likewise, if the hearing officer finds that no violation occurred or finds grounds for not imposing any penalty, such £mdings shall be recorded and a copy provided to the acquitted accused violator. Subd. 5 Appeals. Appeals of any decision made by the hearing officer shall be filed in the district court for the jurisdiction of the (county, city, or township) in which the alleged violation occurred. Subd. 6 Misdemeanor Pro~equti0n. Nothing in this Section shall prohibit the (county,. city, or township) from seeking prosecution as a misdemeanor for any alleged violation of this ordinance. If the (county, city, or township) elects to seek misdemeanor prosecution, no administrative penalty shall be imposed. (.Note: It is clear that the intent of the State law is to impose an administrative remedy for violations. However, nothing in the law appears to prohibit misdemeanor prosecutions as generally authorized for ordinance violations if the county, city, or tow. nship believes a particular situation warrants prosecution. Further, administrative penalties aie generally not considered criminal punishment for the purpose of double jeopardy. Therefore, it would be possible to prosecute an ordinance as a misdemeanor while simultaneously imposing the · administrative penalties. I~ach entity, however, will need to determine wheiher or not it is comfortable seeking two types of penalties. If both penalties are to be imposed, the last sentence of the subdivision text needs to be removed. In addition, prosecution solely under State law remains an option.) · League of Minn~ota Cities/8/07 10