(A) If a defendant is determined to be responsible for a municipal civil infraction the judge or district court magistrate making the determination of responsibility may order the defendant to pay a civil fine not to exceed the sum of $500, and, if applicable, in addition to the civil fine, the judge or magistrate may order the payment of damages and expenses incurred as authorized by § 8733 of the Act regarding the commission of a trailway municipal civil infraction.
(B) If a defendant is ordered to pay a civil fine, the judge or magistrate shall summarily determine the township’s costs of the action and tax the costs. The township’s costs shall not necessarily be limited to the costs taxable in ordinary civil actions and may include all expenses, direct and indirect, to which the township has been put in connection with the municipal civil infraction, up to the entry of the judgment. Costs of not less than $9 nor more than $500 shall be ordered.
(C) In addition to the imposition of civil fines and costs as set forth in divisions (A) and (B) of this section, the district court judge may exercise his or her equitable jurisdiction as provided by § 8302 of the Act and issue and enforce injunctive orders, order the recession or reformation of a contract, and/or issue and enforce any judgment, writ, or other necessary order to enforce the ordinance violated, and to issue any such orders necessary to abate nuisances.
(D) In the order of judgment finding the defendant responsible for the violation of a municipal civil infraction, the judge or district court magistrate may grant a defendant permission to pay the civil fine, costs, damages, and/or expenses imposed within a specified period of time or in specified installments. In the event no period of time is specified and no specified installments are set forth in the judgment all of the fines, costs, damages, and expenses are due immediately.
(E) A failure to pay a civil fine, costs, damages, or expenses may result in the township’s obtaining a lien against the land, building, or structure involved in the violation in accordance with § 8731 of the Act, and may subsequently be enforced and discharged as provided. A failure to pay a civil fine, costs, damages, or expenses may further result in the court’s issuance of an order to show cause requiring the defendant to show cause why the defendant should not be held in civil contempt, or may further result in the court’s issuance of a bench warrant of arrest for the defendant’s appearance.
(F) A defendant who fails to answer a citation for a municipal civil infraction is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed $500, or by imprisonment in the Genesee County Jail for a term not exceeding 90 days, or by both fine and imprisonment.
(Ord. 11-190, passed 7-19-2011)