(A) Establishment. The town hereby establishes a Town Deferral Program pursuant to IC 34-28-5-1, as amended from time to time, to be known as the Town Deferral Program.
(B) Eligibility. An individual who has being issued a citation for a moving traffic citation in the town shall be eligible to participate in the Town Deferral Program if the individual:
(1) Has not been charged with a moving traffic violation that is associated with property damage, personal injury, or other related criminal charges;
(2) Has not been charged with any other moving violation in any state within the last year; and
(3) Has not been charged with an offense of speeding in excess of 30 miles per hour over the posted speed limit.
(C) Application. An individual who is eligible and seeks to participate in the Town Deferral Program (hereinafter Applicant) shall complete the Town Deferral Program Application Agreement located in the Police Department. The Police Department shall verify that the applicant is eligible for the Town Deferral Program.
(D) Fees.
(1) At the time of the application submission, the applicant shall pay the following:
(a) Current court costs, pursuant to the provisions of the Indiana Code, as amended from time to time,
(b) An initial user fee of $52, and
(c) Monthly user fees of $10 per month for each of the six months the applicant is in the Town Deferral Program.
(2) The total amount of the court costs and fees identified above shall be made payable to the Clerk, Lake Superior Court, in the
form of a certified check, money order, or cashier’s check. The fees paid by the applicant are non-refundable and shall not be applied to the fine in the event that the applicant fails to properly and successfully follow and complete the requirements of the Town Deferral Program. The court costs shall be distributed as required for traffic violations. Fifty percent of the initial user fee and monthly user fees shall be deposited in the Police Department Equipment Non-Reverting Fund upon proper processing.
(E) Procedure. The Police Department shall file the applicant’s citation with the Lake County Court. After assignment of a cause number and at the next regularly scheduled Town Court date, the Town Attorney shall file the executed Deferral Program Application Agreement in the Lake County Court together with the court costs and fees. The Police Department shall review the applicant’s driving record six months after the filing of said Agreement (hereinafter Review Period). In the event that no new moving traffic violations have been issued to by the applicant, the Town Attorney shall dismiss the original moving traffic violation citation. In the event that the applicant has been issued a moving traffic violation citation within the review period, or otherwise does not comply with terms of the Town Deferral Program, the Town Attorney shall institute further proceedings against the applicant based upon the original citation.
(F) Implementation. The Town Attorney, Police Department, and Clerk-Treasurer are hereby authorized to develop the appropriate forms and related materials necessary to facilitate the Town Deferral Program.
(Ord. 997, passed 4-10-07)