(A) Bureau established. The Birch Run Village Council hereby establishes a Municipal Ordinance Violations Bureau (Bureau) as authorized under § 8396 of the Act to accept admissions of responsibility for municipal civil infractions in response to municipal civil infraction violation notices issued and served by authorized village officials, and to collect and retain civil fines and costs as prescribed by this or any ordinance.
(B) Location; supervision; employees; rules and regulations. The Bureau shall be located at the Birch Run Village Offices and shall be under the supervision and control of the DDA Director and/or Village Manager. The DDA Director and/or Village Manager, subject to the approval of the Birch Run Village Council, shall adopt rules and regulations for the operation of the Bureau and appoint any necessary, qualified village employees to administer the Bureau.
(C) Disposition of violations. The Bureau may dispose only of municipal civil infraction violations for which a fine has been scheduled and for which a municipal civil infraction violation notice (as compared with a citation) has been issued. The fact that a fine has been scheduled for a particular violation shall not entitle any person to dispose of the violation at the Bureau. Nothing in this chapter shall prevent or restrict the village from issuing a municipal civil infraction citation for any violation or from prosecuting any violation in a court of competent jurisdiction. No person shall be required to dispose of a municipal civil infraction violation at the Bureau and may have the violation processed before a court of appropriate jurisdiction. The unwillingness for any person to dispose of any violation at the Bureau shall not prejudice the person or in any way diminish the person's rights, privileges and protection accorded by law.
(D) Bureau limited to accepting admissions of responsibility. The scope of the Bureau's authority shall be limited to accepting admissions of responsibility for municipal civil infractions and collecting and retaining civil fines and costs as a result of those admissions. The Bureau shall not accept payment of a fine from any person who denies having committed the offense or who admits responsibility only with explanation, and in no event shall the Bureau determine, or attempt to determine, the truth or falsity of any fact or matter relating to an alleged violation.
(E) Municipal civil infraction violation notices. Municipal civil infraction violation notices shall be issued and served by authorized village officials under the same circumstances and upon the same persons as are citations, as provided for in divisions (F) and (G) below. In addition to any other information required by this or any ordinance, the notice of violation shall indicate the time by which the alleged violator must appear at the Bureau, the methods by which an appearance may be made, the address and telephone number of the Bureau, the hours during which the Bureau is open, the amount of the fine scheduled for the alleged violation and the consequences for failure to appear and pay the required fine within the required time.
(F) Appearance; payment of fines and costs. An alleged violator receiving a municipal civil infraction violation notice shall appear at the Bureau and pay the specified fine and costs at or by the time specified for appearance in the municipal civil infraction violation notice. An appearance may be made by mail, in person or by representation.
(G) Procedure where admission of responsibility not made, or fine not paid. If an authorized village official issues and serves a municipal ordinance violation notice and if an admission of responsibility is not made and the civil fine and costs, if any, prescribed by the schedule of fines for the violation are not paid at the Bureau, a municipal civil infraction citation may be filed with the District Court and a copy of the citation may be served by first-class mail upon the alleged violator at the alleged violator's last known address. The citation filed with the court does not need to comply in all respects with the requirements for citations as provided by §§ 8705 and 8709 of the Act, but shall consist of a sworn complaint containing the allegations stated in the municipal ordinance violation notice and shall fairly inform the alleged violator how to respond to the citation.
(Ord. 04-04, passed 10-25-2004)