(A) A law enforcement officer who arrests a person without a warrant for a petty misdemeanor may offer the person arrested the option of accepting a citation to appear in lieu of booking him at the police station.
(B) A police officer who halts a person for any violation of this code, other than the purpose of giving him a warning and does not take such person into custody, shall take the name, address and operator's license number of the cited person, the license plate number of the motor vehicle involved, and such other pertinent information as may be necessary, and shall issue to him in writing a traffic citation containing notice to answer to the charge alleged in Metropolitan Court within five days after the occurrence of the alleged violation, or on a specific date and time which date shall not be sooner than five days after the occurrence of the alleged violation. The alleged violator must give his written promise to appear as provided in the citation and should he refuse to do so, the officer shall take such person into custody.
(C) The person's signature on the citation constitutes a promise to appear at the time and place stated in the citation, provided that, payment of a fine within the time and in the manner specified in division (F) below shall be deemed satisfaction of such promise to appear. In the case of multiple violations, the total amount of fines must be paid in order to relieve a person of his promise to appear.
(D) The uniform traffic citation used as a notice to appear is a valid complaint, though not verified, in the event the person receiving it voluntarily appears in court.
(E) At the time of citation the officer shall inform a person so entitled under division (H) that he may pay a fine for the alleged violation in lieu of appearing in court. If the person elects to pay the fine, the officer shall prepare a notice indicating the alleged violation and the amount of the fine. The notice of fine shall contain a statement that the person agrees to pay the amount of the fine. The notice shall be signed by the person cited and his signature shall constitute entry of a plea of nolo contendere to the offense(s) stated in the notice and a promise to pay the amount prescribed. The person, by signing the notice, does not fulfill his obligation to appear in court if he fails to timely pay the full amount of the fine. If the person is cited for a moving violation, he shall not be entitled to pay a fine in lieu of court appearance if he has been convicted of or pled guilty or nolo contendere to a moving traffic violation within the 12 months preceding the issuance of the citation.
(F) No officer shall accept custody or payment of any fine. Payment of any fine shall be made by mail or in person to the City Treasurer or electronically, if allowed within five days from the date of the issuance of the citation. Payments of fines are timely if postmarked within five days from the date of the issuance of the citation. The City Treasurer shall issue a receipt when a fine is paid by currency but checks tendered by the violator upon which payment is received are sufficient receipt.
(G) Notwithstanding the provisions of division (E), a person may elect to appear at the time and place stated in the citation, and in such case the matter shall proceed as if no notice had been signed. All fines then shall be paid to the Metropolitan Court.
(H) The provisions for payment of a fine in lieu of appearing in court shall apply to any violation of this code except any case where court appearance is mandatory, any case in which the violation caused or contributed to the cause of an accident resulting in injury or death to any person, and any case where the violation consists of speeding in excess of 25 miles an hour in excess of the speed limit.
(I) The schedule of fines for violations of the traffic code shall be kept at the Traffic Violations Bureau and shall be open to public inspection.
('74 Code, § 9-5-21.6) (Ord. 65-1974; Am. Ord. 2016-011)