(a) Civil penalty. Violation of this Article IV shall subject the offender(s) to a civil penalty in the amount of $100.00. In the event there is more than one violation within any one-year period, then the civil penalty shall be increased for each additional violation over one during such period, as follows.
Second offense within one year: $250.00
Third offense within one year: $500.00
Fourth offense within one year: $750.00
Fifth and any subsequent offense within one year: $1,000.00
(1) Once the one year period has run from the "first violation," the next violation shall be considered to be a first violation for the purposes of establishing a new one year period.
(2) Violators shall pay any issued penalty within 72 hours of the issue date and time. The town attorney, or designee, is authorized to file suit on behalf of the town to collect any unpaid citations, and the police chief, or designee, is authorized to verify and sign complaints on behalf of the town in such suits. A police officer may issue a citation for violations of this article.
(3) Appeal of a civil penalty amount may be made to the Town Manager or designee within 30 calendar days from the date of issuance by filing an appeal stating with specificity the grounds for the appeal and the reasons the penalty should be reduced or abated. In considering the appeal, the penalty or fine, the Town Manager or designee may consider the following:
a. the gravity of the violation;
b. any action taken by the violator to correct the violation;
c. the cost of the action to correct the violation; and
d. any previous violations committed by the violator, on the same or different site.
(b) Remedies. This article may also be enforced through equitable remedies issued by a court of competent jurisdiction.
(c) Criminal penalty. In addition to, or in lieu of, such civil penalties or other remedies, violation of this article shall constitute a misdemeanor.
(Ord. No. 2017-Code-03, § 1, 2-23-2017)