Suffern board adopts local law increasing minimum fine for public drinking to $200

The Village of Suffern Board of Trustees voted to adopt a local law amending section 73-6 of the village code to set a minimum fine of $200 for public drinking violations.

Mayor Bill George said the change responds to repeated nuisance behavior and the administrative burden of low-dollar penalties that he said required repeated enforcement. “If you get caught drinking down in public on the street with a can of beer on the street, it’s going to be [a] minimum $200 fine instead of $25,” Mayor George said during the discussion. He also said the village code provides for higher maximum penalties; that maximum was mentioned in the meeting as $2,500.

The board opened a public hearing on the proposed local law during the April meeting. With no public comments, trustees closed the hearing and moved to a vote; a motion to adopt the local law passed on a voice vote with trustees answering “Aye.” The motion to open the hearing was made by Trustee Opper; the later motion to adopt the law was moved from the floor and carried by the board.

Board members framed the change as an effort to reduce recurring nuisance incidents and the time police must spend on low-dollar summonses. Mayor George said repeated citations and the need to obtain warrants for noncompliant individuals create workloads that ultimately cost taxpayers. The board did not record individual roll-call votes in the meeting transcript.

The board also referenced a related pending local-law discussion on parking rules (section 205-36) during the meeting; that matter was continued for further study.

The law was introduced and adopted during the trustees’ regular meeting; the village clerk and village attorney will publish the final adopted text and effective date as required by state law.