By David Fleet
Editor
Goodrich-On Feb. 11 the village council voted 5-0 to postpone consideration of an amendment to make violations of village ordinances a civil infraction. The next discussion will be 6 p.m., March 11 at the village offices.
At issue are civil infraction tickets which could be issued for violations of village ordinances such as blight, lack of exterior property maintenance, or trash accumulation.
Following a public hearing during Monday night’s meeting the council opted to add procedures for warning prior to the issuance of a ticket. There was no vote to approve the amendment.
“There will be due process and residents will have an opportunity to fix the problem before they are fined,” said Shannon McCaffarty, village president. “This will be similar to a traffic ticket if issued.”
McCaffarty and the council hope to provide a way to enforce the village laws, rather than depending on a law enforcement issuing a ticket.
Currently, the code enforcer does not have the authority to issue a civil infraction.