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Committee forwards animal-drawn vehicle ordinance to county board
Summary
The committee discussed a draft ordinance requiring identification placards and state-style lighting rules for animal-drawn vehicles countywide and voted to send the measure to the county board for consideration; members emphasized education before enforcement.
The Marquette County Judicial & Public Safety Committee voted April 7 to forward a draft animal-drawn vehicle ordinance to the county board after discussing requirements for ownership identification and lighting for buggies.
The draft ordinance would require an ownership identification placard inside each animal-drawn vehicle listing name and address and would adopt state-statute language for nighttime lighting and visibility. Committee members said the ordinance is intended to improve safety; speakers noted most Amish communities in the southern county already comply with lighting standards while some areas in the north have lagged in adoption.
Aaron and other staff described an education-first enforcement approach: officials would follow up on complaints and provide due process, with the ordinance creating county-level penalties if noncompliance continues. One committee member outlined that repeated offenses under a county ordinance could lead to escalating fines — potentially topping $1,000 after multiple subsequent violations — a larger penalty framework than a state citation might provide.
The ordinance’s jurisdictional language explicitly covers every roadway within the county boundary — paved, unpaved and state highways located inside the county — to avoid gaps that would require separate town ordinances.
Chuck moved to send the animal-drawn vehicle ordinance to the county board; a second was recorded (name not specified) and the motion carried on a voice vote. The committee agreed to include an educational period if and when the county board adopts the ordinance.
The committee’s action was a referral; no county-level ordinance was adopted at the meeting. The ordinance will next appear before the full county board for consideration.
