Council asks staff to draft ordinance codifying diversion program and removing age cap for first-time moving violations

The Albany City Council directed staff Wednesday to draft an ordinance that would codify the city's existing diversion program for moving violations and remove the current 25-year age cap used by the municipal court judge, councilors said.

Councilor Van Dermalen said her intent in bringing the item forward was to enshrine current practice in city code and to remove the age restriction so first-time offenders of any age would be eligible. Councilors McLeod and Newton said the policy goal was fairness and that education, not age, should determine eligibility for diversion.

City staff and the city attorney clarified the scope and limits. September Ridgeway (court administration) and City Attorney Sean Kidd explained that the city's existing diversion practice applies to moving violations that are not criminal offenses; the program generally allows eligible defendants to take a traffic-education course, and completion keeps the violation off the driving record. Prosecutors and court staff said diversion eligibility does not typically apply to criminal offenses such as reckless driving.

Kidd noted the city's judge has an independence clause in the judge's contract, but councilors said legislative codification would set consistent policy going forward; staff said the judge had indicated she could implement whatever the council and code direct.

Action and next steps: Council asked staff to draft ordinance language that codifies the diversion program and removes the age limit while keeping other eligibility criteria intact (first-time moving violations, non-criminal). Staff said it will return with draft ordinance language and implementation details, including any workload implications for court staffing.

Provenance: The diversion discussion began when the city manager introduced the item at 6161.17 seconds into the transcript and concluded after council direction around 7565.8604 seconds.