Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Uniform Minor Offense Table topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Borough attorney urges adoption of uniform minor-offense table so state courts can process fines
Summary
At a Bristol Bay Borough workshop, borough attorney Joe Levesque urged adoption of a uniform minor-offense table so the Alaska court system can accept local code fines and reimburse the borough, while assembly members sought assurances it would not trigger mass ticketing.
Borough attorney Joe Levesque told a Bristol Bay Borough assembly workshop that adopting a uniform minor-offense table (referred to in the discussion as the "U Mott/Umont" list) is an administrative step that allows the Alaska court system to process local fines and reimburse the borough after administrative costs.
Levesque explained the practical effect: "You write a citation, the person pays the fine, and the court system will reimburse the borough part of that after they take off their administrative costs." He said municipalities that adopt the list avoid hiring a judge or prosecuting attorneys to enforce code violations through local courts.
Assembly members raised concerns that compiling fines into a court-processed list might lead to increased ticketing. Speaker 3, who led the workshop, and other participants emphasized that the intention is compliance, not additional enforcement: outreach and warnings would usually precede citations. Speaker 3 noted many municipalities do not add new crimes when adopting the list but instead collate existing penalties to enable court handling.
Members also discussed practical details, including how citations are paid and where enforcement responsibility lies. One participant said the borough has written few or no tickets in recent years on some items, suggesting limited current enforcement activity. The group agreed to return the item to a policy workshop so members can review the packet, consult department directors and collect public comment before reintroducing any ordinance for a vote.
The workshop assigned homework to assembly members to read Title 1 and related sections, mark suggested changes and forward them to staff for follow-up. Joe Levesque recommended pulling prior drafts the assembly had worked on to streamline the reintroduction process. The assembly did not vote on the matter at the workshop and took no formal action; staff and assembly members will address the UMONT/list in an upcoming workshop.
