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Cleves creates restricted 'abatement' fund to hold clean-court fines and lien recoveries
Summary
Council approved Ordinance 20-2025 to create a specialized and restricted enterprise fund for nuisance abatement; fines and lien recoveries will be held in the fund until a $10,000 threshold is met and then used for property abatements and related cleanup costs.
Cleves Village Council voted to establish a specialized and restricted enterprise fund — described at the meeting as an abatement fund — to hold fines, abatements and lien recoveries tied to code enforcement, the recently created Clean Court and the Board of Zoning Appeals.
Under Ordinance 20-2025, 100% of fines from the Clean Court and BZA would be deposited into the restricted fund until the fund reaches a $10,000 balance. The stated intent is to create a dedicated, transparent source of money to pay for property cleanups, contractor abatements and other expenses associated with nuisance properties; when liens are collected the receipts would replenish the fund.
Administration said the fund is intended to ensure fines are used for abatement activity rather than general purposes. Several council members raised concerns that creating another GL (general ledger) code could complicate bookkeeping and that most personnel costs (magistrate, clerk of court, enforcement staff) will still come from the general fund. The village administrator and mayor emphasized that setting the fund apart would remove a perception that fines are being used to subsidize general government operations.
Council members and staff cited recent local abatement examples and costs: two recent property abatements related to weed-and-grass control were completed for properties on Forest Street and Mount Ebel; staff described a separate case where cleanup estimates were approximately $5,000 and a BZA hearing against one property had accumulated fines reported as about $53,500 (presented as historic citation tallies). Staff said council can, by motion, move surplus funds above $10,000 into the general fund if council chooses.
The council first voted to suspend rules and then adopted Ordinance 20-2025; the adoption vote passed on roll call. During debate council members emphasized that the fund is designed for abatement and remediation, not to offset salaries; the mayor and administration said the motion will make the fund’s purpose clear to residents.
