The Council of the city hereby makes the following findings.
(A) There exists within the city, various problems resulting from the improper use and operation of motor vehicles which seem to increasingly result in the commission of offenses, sometimes popularly referred to as “moving” violations, and all being violations of the statutes of the state and/or the traffic ordinances of the city.
(B) An appropriate manner of:
(1) Addressing the problems associated with the improper use and operation of motor vehicles; and
(2) Reducing the commission of “moving” violations by operators of motor vehicles within the corporate limits of the city, is through additional education of operators of motor vehicles in safe driving practices.
(C) An efficient, reasonable and proper manner of providing the additional education to operators of motor vehicles would be through the city’s establishment of a Municipal Traffic School.
(D) Any and all persons possessing a valid motor vehicle operator’s license shall be deemed to be eligible for enrollment and participation in the Municipal Traffic School.
(E) In certain instances, the operators of motor vehicles who are charged with certain “moving” violations of the city’s traffic ordinances but only in the sound discretion and with the prior and express approval of the city’s Municipal Court Judge, may be afforded an opportunity before any formal and final adjudication of such charged, “moving” traffic violations, to enroll in the City’s Municipal Traffic School, and upon full and successful completion thereof, to have one charged, but non-adjudicated “moving” traffic violation dismissed without the transmittal by city authorities of any notice respecting the violation to the Division of Motor Vehicles of the West Virginia Department of Transportation; provided, that no more than one such traffic violation shall be eligible for dismissal in the event that multiple violations are committed within any 12-month period, all in lieu of any further judicial proceedings thereon.
(F) Notwithstanding the provisions of division (E) above, that certain offenses, being more particularly:
(1) Driving under the influence of alcohol or other controlled substance;
(2) Reckless driving;
(3) Any school zone offense;
(4) Vehicular homicide; or
(5) Any offense involving an accident wherein any property is damaged or any person is injured, then the enrollment in and successful completion of the Municipal Traffic School course shall not under any circumstances result in the dismissal of such pending traffic violation.
(G) Further notwithstanding the provisions of division (E) above, that any person who either at the time of the commission of any offense which may be subject to dismissal as a consequence of the operator’s successful completion of the aforesaid course, or who otherwise at the time of application for enrollment in the said course is shown according to the records maintained by the Division of Motor Vehicles of the state’s Department of Transportation as having then currently accrued more than six points upon the operator’s driving records, then there shall be no dismissal of any pending traffic violation as charged against the motor vehicle operator.
(H) The discretion hereby vested with the city’s Municipal Court Judge is intended by the Council to be at all times exercised in a nonarbitrary and nondiscriminatory manner in compliance with the statutory provisions of W.Va. Code § 8-11-2, as amended, and in no event shall the herein vested discretion be deemed to invalidate the provisions of this subchapter.
(I) Except as otherwise expressly limited or prohibited herein, the Judge of the city’s Municipal Court may establish such other administrative procedures, rules and/or regulations not inconsistent with the provisions of this subchapter, which the Municipal Court Judge may deem to be necessary, however, prior to effectuation, any such administrative procedures, rules and/or regulations shall be reduced to written form and further shall be subject to the approval by motion of the Council, and following the Council’s approval of any such administrative procedures, rules and/or regulations, the same shall be included within the minutes of the Council meeting during which any administrative procedures, rules and/or regulations are approved.
(J) The Municipal Court of the city shall collect all fees and costs as are referenced in division (C) above, and as such collection is required by any provision of the State Code. Furthermore, the Municipal Court shall conform its prejudgment alternative disposition procedures with the statutory provisions of W.Va. Code § 8-11-5.
(K) Attendance of the Municipal Traffic School of the city for purposes of obtaining prejudgment alternative disposition of any traffic offense, shall not be available to any person arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs or any other offense for which a mandatory period of confinement in jail is required. Notwithstanding the immediately foregoing litigation, any person arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs or any other offense for which a mandatory period of confinement in jail is required, who requests to attend the Municipal Traffic School of the city, may nevertheless enroll in, and attend the Municipal Traffic School; however, such enrollment and attendance shall not in any event be deemed to constitute any prejudgment alternative disposition to the offense charged.
(Ord. 253, passed 5-3-2018)