(A) Establishment. The Town Council may establish, by ordinance or code, an Ordinance Violations Bureau.
(I.C. 33-36-2-1)
(B) Violations Clerk designated.
(1) Upon the creation of a bureau, the Town Council shall provide for the appointment of a Violations Clerk, who may be the Clerk-Treasurer of the municipality, to be the administrator of the Bureau.
(I.C. 33-36-2-1)
(2) If the Town Council does not establish an Ordinance Violations Bureau under this section, the Clerk-Treasurer of the town is designated the Violations Clerk for purposes of this section.
(I.C. 33-36-2-2)
(C) Duties of Clerk-Treasurer. In ordinance violation cases, subject to the schedule prescribed under I.C. 33-36-3 by the Town Council, the Violations Clerk may accept the following:
(1) Written appearances;
(2) Waivers of trial;
(3) Admissions of violations; and
(4) Payment of civil penalties up to a specific dollar amount set forth in an ordinance adopted by the legislative body, but not more than $250.
(I.C. 33-36-2-3)
(D) Schedule of fines.
(1) Upon the appointment or designation of the Violations Clerk as provided by division (A), the Town Council shall designate, by ordinance or code, a schedule of ordinance and code provisions that are subject to admission of violation before the Violations Clerk and the amount of civil penalty to be assessed to a violator who elects to admit a violation under this chapter.
(2) Civil penalties shall be paid to, receipted by, and accounted for by the Clerk under procedures provided for by the State Board of Accounts. Payment of civil penalties under this chapter may be made in person, by mail, or to an agent or agents designated by the Town Council.
(I.C. 33-36-3-1)
(E) Right to trial. A person charged with an ordinance or a code violation is entitled to a trial before a court as provided by law, unless the person waives the right to trial and enters an admission of the violation with the Violations Clerk. Upon an admission, the Clerk shall assess and receive from the violator the amount prescribed by the schedule of civil penalties established under division (D).
(I.C. 33-36-3-2)
(F) Denial; exercise of the right to trial. If a person charged with a violation wants to exercise the right to trial, the person shall appear before the Violations Clerk and deny the violation or enter a written denial with the Clerk.
(I.C. 33-36-3-3)
(G) Failure to appear or to satisfy assessed civil penalty; report; prosecution.
(1) If a person does any of the following, then the Violations Clerk shall report this fact to the official having the responsibility to prosecute ordinance violation cases for the town:
(a) Denies an ordinance or code violation under this section;
(b) Fails to satisfy a civil penalty assessed by the Violations Clerk after having entered an admission of violation; or
(c) Fails to deny or admit the violation under this section.
(2) Proceedings in court against the person shall then be initiated for the alleged ordinance violation.
(I.C. 33-36-3-5)
(H) Court costs fee; admitted violations.
(1) An ordinance violation admitted under this chapter does not constitute a judgment for the purposes of I.C. 33-37. An ordinance violation costs fee may not be collected from the defendant under I.C. 33-37-4.
(2) An ordinance violation processed under this section may not be considered for the purposes of I.C. 33-37-7-5 or I.C. 33-37-7-6 when determining the percentage of ordinance violations prosecuted in certain courts.
(I.C. 33-36-3-6)
(I) Disposition of civil penalties and costs collected. All sums collected by the Violations Clerk as civil penalties for ordinance violations shall be accounted for and paid to the town as provided by law.
(I.C. 33-36-3-7)
Cross-reference:
Schedule of fines, see Appendix A to this chapter