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Council advances tougher penalties for property‑maintenance violations to give courts 'teeth'
Summary
Safety committee advanced Ordinance 10-26 to second reading, raising first-time property‑maintenance violations from a minor misdemeanor to a fourth‑degree misdemeanor and setting second/subsequent offenses at second‑degree misdemeanor (max 90 days) to increase judicial leverage for compliance, officials said.
The Parma Safety Committee on Feb. 17 moved Ordinance 10-26 to second reading after a detailed discussion about enforcement of property‑maintenance rules and whether criminal penalties or civil fines better secure compliance.
Safety Director Corey explained the change: "We increased it from a minor misdemeanor to a fourth‑degree misdemeanor, primarily for the purposes of making sure that on a first offense ... we weren't left with a minor misdemeanor which left the courts without any leverage to institute probation," he said. Corey added that second or subsequent offenses were set as second‑degree misdemeanors so penalties remain proportionate (theoretical maximum 90 days).
Council members debated alternatives including fee schedules, civil assessments and using nuisance‑abatement processes. Councilman Early described cases where repeated noncompliance forced the city to perform cleanup and recover costs through the tax duplicate; he said criminal penalties had been used selectively where prior civil remedies failed.
Safety department staff and law department officials said fines and tax assessments often failed to change chronic noncompliance, and courts sometimes waive fines; the committee concluded the revised misdemeanor structure could provide stronger inducements for property owners to remedy violations.
The committee voted to send Ordinance 10-26 for second reading and back to committee for final consideration and a future vote.
