Committee reviews draft citation-and-hearing procedure to standardize enforcement across city ordinances

Norwalk staff introduced a draft ordinance Feb. 18 to standardize issuance of citations and hearing procedures across municipal codes, proposing a single framework that other ordinances could reference. The committee did not vote; members were asked to review the draft and send questions before the March meeting.

Brian (staff) described the draft as an initial version modeled in part on statutory procedures (for example, Section 7-1(52)(c) analogues used by some municipalities) and intended to consolidate recurring citation and hearing procedures in one place rather than repeating similar language in dozens of individual ordinances. The draft covers purpose, appointment of hearing officers, notice of violations, hearing procedure, notice of assessment and judgment, appeal rights and other remedies.

Committee members raised specific questions for staff and corporation counsel: whether hearing officers should be appointed by the mayor with Council confirmation (many other municipal appointments follow that pattern), whether hearing officers should be required to be licensed attorneys or possess specific credentials, and whether volunteers serving as hearing officers would be covered by municipal indemnity/hold-harmless provisions.

Staff said these are items they will research with corporation counsel and return with draft language. Heather Dunn asked that the draft include a provision noting mayoral appointment subject to Council confirmation where appropriate; staff agreed to add a comment for counsel review. The committee encouraged staff to consider protections (hold harmless/indemnity) for volunteer hearing officers and to clarify qualifications.

The committee asked members to read the draft thoroughly and return comments to staff so that a revised version can be considered at the next meeting.