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Athens adopts state nontraffic citation form for municipal ordinance violations
Summary
The Athens City Council voted unanimously to adopt the Alabama Uniform Non‑Traffic Citation and Complaint as the city's official citation form for municipal ordinance violations, a change city staff said will standardize charging procedures and can be used for zoning and code violations.
At its Oct. 13 meeting, the Athens City Council voted 4-0 to adopt an ordinance naming the Alabama Uniform Non‑Traffic Citation and Complaint (UNTCC) as the official citation form for municipal ordinance violations.
City staff said the change replaces a legacy city citation form with the state standardized form. "The uniform non traffic citation and complaint is the city's official instrument that it is using with respect for the prosecution of municipal ordinance violations," said Shane, a city staff member who presented the ordinance.
The ordinance amends section 30-5 of the City of Athens Code of Ordinances to identify the UNTCC as the form to be used for nontraffic offenses that do not require custodial arrest. Shane told the council the form would be left with the person cited and would give them a court date to appear in city court.
During the public-comment period, resident Rick Johnson asked whether the UNTCC would make it easier for police to enforce nuisance, grass and zoning violations. Shane replied that the form "could be used for zoning ordinance violations" and that it functions as a charging instrument that results in a court date. He added the city has been meeting with code enforcement to streamline violation processes.
Resident Mark Wilson also spoke about perceived uneven enforcement in neighborhoods but did not address the ordinance's procedural change directly.
Mayor and council members who voted in favor — Councilmember Seibert, Councilmember Wailes, Councilmember Harper and Councilmember Lucas — approved both suspension of rules to take the ordinance up and final adoption by voice/roll call, recorded as 4 yays, 0 nays. The ordinance text adopted was recorded as replacing or establishing section 30-5 for UNTCC use; no effective date beyond adoption was specified in the meeting minutes.
The ordinance does not, by itself, expand staff or enforcement staffing levels; Shane and others noted it standardizes the form used for charging but said staffing and broader code‑enforcement workflows remain subject to separate administrative decisions.
The council took the action after a brief staff presentation and limited public comment. The transcript does not specify an implementation timeline or changes to staffing to accompany the form change.
