Assistant Chief Tom Smith told the Laramie City Council on Nov. 25 that the city’s existing muffler provision in the traffic code is the department’s primary tool for addressing excessively loud vehicles because the city’s Chapter 8 decibel ordinance is difficult to use in routine enforcement.

Smith described the technical requirements for Chapter 8: measurements must be taken at 25 feet with ANSI‑standard sound meters operated by certified officers, and the ordinance’s text includes environmental constraints such as wind speeds under 5 miles per hour and limited allowable decibel increases in a 15‑minute window. Those requirements, Smith said, present practical obstacles to writing a citation the city can successfully prosecute in court.

By contrast, Smith said the traffic code muffler ordinance is simpler to apply: an officer need only observe that a vehicle is "excessive or unusual" and may cite for a malfunctioning or altered exhaust. Smith read the ordinance language used for enforcement: "Every motor vehicle shall at all times be equipped with a muffler in good working order and in constant operation to prevent excessive or unusual noise and annoying smoke." He said nearly all vehicle noise citations in recent years have been written under that section rather than under Chapter 8.

Smith reviewed recent complaint levels and enforcement activity: 30 loud‑vehicle complaints in 2023, 35 in 2024 and 20 through the third quarter of 2025, while citations for loud vehicles in those same periods were 6, 1 and 3. He also cited a city engineer calculation showing roughly 1,270,000,000 vehicle traversals on city streets annually (based on 2023 AADT)—a context he used to argue complaint counts are low relative to total vehicle movements but acknowledged many residents choose not to call dispatch.

Councilors asked about technologies and costs. Smith said ANSI‑compliant meters cost $2,000–$6,000 each and require certification training (a 24‑hour course), making department‑wide deployment cost‑prohibitive; he estimated the equipment/training bill could exceed $100,000 to equip patrol officers. He noted some non‑vehicle noise complaints (shared‑wall stereos, construction) can still be handled under Chapter 8 or disorderly conduct rules.

Smith pointed to Cheyenne’s recently adopted ordinance as a model that expands explicit language about "unreasonable noise" and gives officers prima facie discretion on time and place; he said the city attorney has discussed Cheyenne’s approach with Cheyenne’s attorney and staff could explore similar clarifying language if council desires.

A public commenter, Christopher Stratton, told council he experiences nightly revving and muffler noise near student housing and urged greater enforcement and use of stronger ordinance language. Smith and councilors repeatedly encouraged residents to call dispatch when incidents occur so the department can increase directed patrols in problem areas; Smith said conversations with noise producers usually resolve many complaints without formal citations.

No ordinance change was proposed or voted on at the Nov. 25 session; staff advised council on tradeoffs and cost implications for stricter decibel enforcement.