(A) Bureau established. The city hereby establishes the City of the Village of Douglas Municipal Civil Infractions Bureau (Bureau) as authorized under §§ 8396 and 8707(6) of the Act to accept admissions of responsibility for municipal civil infractions in response to municipal civil infraction notices issued and served by authorized city officials, and to collect and retain civil fines and costs as prescribed by this chapter.
(B) Location; supervision; employees; rules and regulations. The Bureau shall be located at the City Hall and shall be under the supervision and control of the City Clerk. The Clerk, subject to the approval of the City Council, shall adopt rules and regulations for the operation of the Bureau and shall appoint any other necessary qualified city employees to administer the Bureau.
(C) Disposition of infractions. The Bureau may dispose only of municipal civil infractions for which a fine has been scheduled and for which a municipal civil infraction notice (rather than a citation) has been issued. The fact that a fine has been scheduled for a particular municipal civil infraction shall not entitle any person to dispose of the infraction at the Bureau. Nothing in this chapter shall prevent or restrict the city from issuing a municipal civil infraction citation for any municipal civil infraction or from prosecuting any infraction in a court of competent jurisdiction. No person shall be required to dispose of a municipal civil infraction at the Bureau, and a person may have the municipal civil infraction processed before a court of appropriate jurisdiction. The unwillingness of a person to dispose of any municipal civil infraction 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 municipal civil infraction.
(E) Municipal civil infraction notices. Municipal civil infraction notices shall be issued and served by authorized city officials under the same circumstances and upon the same persons as provided in § 34.04 for municipal civil infraction citations. In addition to any other information required by this chapter, the municipal civil infraction notice shall indicate the time by which the alleged violator shall appear at the Bureau, the methods by which an appearance at the Bureau 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 infraction, and the consequences for failure to appear at the Bureau and pay the required fine within the required time.
(F) Appearance; payment of fines and costs. An alleged violator who receives a municipal civil infraction 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 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 city official issues and serves a municipal civil infraction 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 infraction 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 particulars 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 civil infraction notice and shall fairly inform the alleged violator of how to respond to the citation.
(Ord. 147, passed 8-10-1998)