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Roselle trustees review broad overhaul of fines, fees, impoundment and administrative hearings
Summary
Village staff proposed consolidating penalties into a single fine table, raising several minimum fines and impound fees, and formalizing an administrative hearing system that uses home-rule authority; trustees signaled support while asking for public-facing messaging and the option to revisit some amounts.
Roselle presented a proposed revamp of its municipal fines, fee schedules and impoundment rules, including consolidation of penalties into a single fine table and an updated administrative-adjudication framework under the village’s home-rule authority.
DC Gates, who led the code review, told trustees the changes are intended to modernize language across multiple chapters, align local code with state law, and make future updates easier by maintaining a single fine table. "We did a comprehensive review of the village's fine and penalty structure and identified multiple code sections that required modernization," Gates said. He said many provisions had not been updated since 2010.
Among the measures discussed were raising the general minimum fine (presented as an increase from $35 to $50), revising penalties for tobacco sales and possession by minors, increasing noise and nuisance fines, and moving many enforcement matters to local administrative adjudication rather than circuit-court procedures. Gates said the village is also proposing to increase certain impoundment fees (the packet presented raising the current $500 impound fee to $750) and to raise the e-bike first-offense fine to $150.
Trustees emphasized public outreach so residents and businesses understand new penalties. Trustee Domke asked how people would be informed about ordinance changes; Gates said staff would coordinate messaging. Mayor David Pileschi stressed that the intent is enforcement and compliance rather than revenue generation: "This is not a revenue line for us. This is simply a means to hold people accountable and enforce the rules."
The presentation also covered a revised administrative-hearing chapter that formalizes notice, evidence rules, subpoena authority and procedures for nonresidents. Under home-rule authority referenced in the presentation, Gates said the village could impose civil fines up to $50,000 in extreme, chronic noncompliance cases; presenters described that as a rare tool for long-standing enforcement problems.
Trustees debated whether some impoundment charges tied to serious offenses — such as DUI or fleeing and eluding — should be raised to $1,000. Gates recommended adopting the packet amounts now and revisiting figures after one year if adjustments are needed.
The board did not take a final action on the ordinance at the meeting; staff will incorporate feedback and proceed toward an action agenda item. Trustees asked staff to prepare public-facing materials to notify residents of changes and to clarify any amounts in the packet.
Next steps: staff will refine language based on trustee feedback, prepare formal ordinance language for a future action item, and coordinate outreach to ensure the public is informed before any fines take effect.
