Committee approves reinstating several county code provisions after omission discovered

Adams County’s Public Safety & Justice committee voted to reinstate several county-code provisions during its July meeting, approving an ordinance that restores possession to the county’s drug paraphernalia provisions and adds littering and disorderly conduct with a motor vehicle into chapter 17 of the county code.

The clerk read the ordinance text and the sheriff’s representative told the committee the provisions had existed previously but were left out when the code was updated in 2015, preventing enforcement. "We weren't able to enforce those ordinances, so we felt the need to incorporate them back into the ordinance list," the sheriff said.

A committee member said the omission was brought to the county’s attention by a county judge; another member urged that judges be given time to review and sign off before the measure reached the full county board. The clerk had noted by email that the judges had not yet signed off. One supervisor criticized corporation counsel for not presenting the draft to the judges earlier, saying the office had the opportunity to do so during drafting.

Supervisors approved the amendment by voice vote after a motion to adopt (motion moved by Supervisor Baker and seconded by Supervisor Perud). The committee used voice voting: the chair called for "all those in favor," members responded "aye," and the chair declared the motion carried. The ordinance was approved at the committee level and will follow the normal process for county ordinances.

The discussion focused on restoring previously enacted local offenses to allow law enforcement to enforce the county code consistently. The committee did not record a roll-call tally in committee minutes; the meeting record reflects approval by unanimous voice vote. The clerk also indicated that the judges’ review remained outstanding.