Police chief tells council many town ordinances lack enforceable elements; requests ordinance‑review meeting

Chief Mitcheth told the Town Council that long‑standing administrative gaps mean some town ordinances cannot be used to issue citations or take enforcement action.

"I had a case recently where... I just couldn't use it because it didn't have all the elements that it needed," Chief Mitcheth said, explaining that some ordinances on the books lack the definitional elements and penalty sections required for enforcement. He recommended re‑establishing an ordinance review committee or assigning a staff member to shepherd ordinances through the town’s attorney and the court process.

The chief described process issues: codified ordinances need to be entered in the court’s SMART program by the court clerk so officers can issue citations and use the court system; Clerk involvement is required and training gaps have left several ordinances effectively unusable. He urged a short series of meetings—ideally beginning in December—to train staff, identify outdated ordinances and submit corrected text for judicial handling.

Council members agreed there is a training and process gap and discussed limiting committee size to avoid protracted edits. No ordinance amendments were adopted at the meeting; the council agreed to schedule a follow‑up meeting to begin the review and assign tasks.

Next steps: Chief Mitcheth proposed assembling operational staff, the clerk and interested councilors to review ordinances, and then involve the town attorney and court clerk for SMART submission. The council agreed to consider scheduling the first of those meetings in December.