City attorney recommends civil penalties to replace misdemeanors; commission favors escalating civil fines and magistrate process

City legal staff told the Deltona City Commission that the city’s current penalty cross‑references lead to a criminal‑misdemeanor enforcement path for several code sections (noise, solid waste, dangerous animals, etc.), and recommended revising that penalty structure to a civil, escalating‑fine model enforceable by both code enforcement and the sheriff’s office.

The city attorney explained the legal background: multiple code chapters refer to a single general penalty section (city code section 1‑15) that has been interpreted by the sheriff’s general counsel as creating misdemeanor offenses. Prosecuting misdemeanors would require contracts with the state attorney and public defender and would likely be costly and complicated; the city would probably not recover those costs from fines.

Legal staff recommended switching to a civil, escalating fines approach with enforcement options for code enforcement and the sheriff’s office and appeals to a special magistrate and county court. Commissioners generally agreed. Multiple members said they did not want to criminalize common neighborhood disputes and favored the magistrate/civil citation model. One commissioner favored a hybrid model that escalates to criminal prosecution for repeat offenders but staff cautioned that hybrid models are more complex and expensive.

Specific items discussed were noise limits in the code (60 dB daytime; 55 dB nighttime), the process for appealing citations, and escalation measures (e.g., fines, lien placement). Staff said comparable ordinances from Fort Myers and Martin County were provided as examples; the commission directed staff to draft ordinance language to shift penalties from misdemeanor prosecution to civil escalating fines and to return with proposed language and magistrate procedures.

Next steps: legal staff will draft ordinance changes to remove criminal prosecution as the primary enforcement mechanism for the referenced code sections, define an escalation schedule for civil fines and include administrative processes for the special magistrate appeals and enforcement by deputies and code officers.