City attorney proposes overhaul of Chapter 9 (courts, fines, imprisonment); council asks procedural questions

City Attorney Brad Timish presented a redlined draft to amend Chapter 9 of the City Code, which governs the municipal courts, fines and imprisonment, and said much of the chapter had been unchanged since 1937 and needed updating to reflect current municipal procedures and Wyoming state law.

Timish told the council the draft makes largely formatting and reference changes, repeals sections that are no longer relevant, and restates statutory limits where appropriate. He said the draft clarifies that the state statutory limit for municipal fines is $750 and incorporates state procedures for an automatic expungement for minors convicted of tobacco possession or use: the ordinance would adopt the state provision that allows automatic expungement after the most recent violation followed by six months (the draft references state statute 14-3-304 as cited in the meeting record).

Timish said the draft also removes certain jailable offenses that belong in district or circuit court (for example, attempted elude), excludes curfew and minor-consumption-of-alcohol offenses from jailable offenses because state law prohibits imprisoning minors for status offenses, and updates the municipal probation provisions to mirror state statute language. He described changes to fines-and-costs collection, bail and bond authority (including expanding authority to the sheriff for bail acceptance at the county detention facility), and forfeiture-of-bond rules consistent with Wyoming criminal procedure.

Council members asked operational questions: whether counties charge a booking fee the city could recover and how fines and court costs interact with county jail and dispatch services; Timish and staff said jurisdictions handle booking and related costs differently and that the city’s arrangements (including dispatch/trade agreements) affect whether such charges are applied. Council members also asked staff to clarify how often the state adjusts the statutory fine cap; Timish said the amount does not change often and judges generally set approved fines well below the statutory maximum.

Timish said the municipal judges, city prosecutor, police department and city attorney’s office had reviewed the proposed changes and agreed they accurately reflect state law and court procedure. The council did not take a final vote on the ordinance during the May 12 session; the draft redline will return for formal consideration at a later meeting.