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Miami University students and residents of Oxford will soon be paying less for some offenses after city council passed an ordinance to reduce fines for certain civil citations Sept. 1.
According to Sgt. Jim Squance, the ordinance, which will go into effect Oct. 1, was proposed and passed because the previous fines for civil offenses were too high.
"We felt that $160 was too steep," Squance said. "The cops have a heart too."
The ordinance changes fines for civil offenses to $60 by removing the $100 court fees that were originally attached to the citations. In addition, it allows officers to enforce the laws without issuing citations that will result in court appearances or court fees.
The civil offenses included in the changes range from U-turn and littering violations to jaywalking and placing unauthorized signs on public property.
According to Lt. Thomas Horvath, the changes will bring lower out-of-pocket costs for citizens because the city will more directly handle these cases.
In the past, citizens who were cited for a civil offense had the option of appearing in court and paid court fees even if they did not go to court and even if they did go and were found guilty.
"This (new ordinance) allows for a lesser penalty handled within the confines of the city," Horvath said.
Oxford Mayor Prue Dana was also in support of the changes.
"This was an effort to make more of those things a little more palatable," Dana said. "It allows the police to enforce things by giving them a fine without the sting of court costs."
Horvath said the changes will also save drivers from having points placed on their licenses for lesser offenses.
"This is a win-win for everybody," Squance said.
The changes did leave one civil offense out, however.
Outdoor furniture violations, including beer pong tables, were not included in the offenses that would receive a reduced fine.
According to Dana, the outdoor furniture offense remained unchanged at the request of Alysia Fischer, city councilor, after discussion with the Student Community Relations Commission (SCRC).
According to Fischer, the SCRC reminded her of the effort in the past to control litter, noise and outdoor furniture and said that changing one of the policies may hurt the enforcement of others.
"They felt strongly that changing one of them would send a message that it's not important," Fischer said. "Why change it when we've got it working?"
Dana agreed with the reasoning that the SCRC brought to the city council's attention.
"Since it was introduced and enforced, we on council think there has been a great improvement in how the neighborhoods looks," Dana said.
