From
Megan Mahan
Title
An ordinance amending Chapter 25, "TRAFFIC" of the Code of Ordinance by the addition of Article VII, Administrative Adjudication of Parking Violations, by creating a civil penalty for certain parking offenses, providing a fine of $75 for each offense in violation of the ordinance
Presenter
Don Postell, City Attorney
Recommended Action
Approve
Analysis
This request is being initiated by the City of Grand Prairie after determining that certain parking violations are difficult to enforce and prosecute as a criminal offense. By turning them into civil violations, certain procedural requirements under the Code of Criminal Procedure do not apply. The burden of proof is lower than in a criminal offense. In a criminal offense, the State has to prove that the person who go the ticket was actually the person driving; in a civil offense, there is a presumption that the owner of the vehicle is the person who parked the vehicle. Further, a civilian can write these civil citations, which will free our police officers to focus on other criminal activity.
Through this civil adjudication process, we can create and enforce “two hour parking limit” signs. We also included many other parking violations so that the ordinance can grow and evolve as the city grows and evolves.
Financial Consideration
By turning these tickets into civil administrative tickets, we do not need to collect court costs that would normally be imposed in a criminal offense. These court costs range from approximately $50 up to $120 per violation. Instead, we will be able to keep all the money collected, less costs of administration. We will be utilizing our police officer interns to write the ticket, so we will not need to add any additional police staff to write these tickets.
The Municipal Court would like to use its hearing officer who has already been appointed by the city for the red light camera hearings. State law requires that a defendant can appear for an “on-the-s...
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