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ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL - November 26, 2007 8 City Administrator Wolfe explained there are tools that could be implemented in the future to assist staff with enforcement, such as administrative fines; however, they are not available to staff at this time. She explained that administrative fines could be a useful tool in code enforcement and compliance; however, there is still no guarantee that all properties would be in compliance with the code 100% of the time. She stated that despite the difficulties of enforcement, the City is committed to enforcing code violations. Councilmember Holden requested examples of the difficulties. City Administrator Wolfe replied that with some violations such as animal control, it is easy to issue a fine, but issues with some the violations can change. The nature of the violation is one that it must be observed for follow-up. She stated that once issued, violations are often ignored and the criminal process begins. City Attorney Filla replied that as an example there were a number of citations issued for a property while the resident was out of state and warrants were issued that are currently outstanding. He stated the property owner has had a representative clean up the property. He explained the court process from beginning to end is about six months if the property owner requests trial and in the mean time, the property remains in violation. He stated civil action is an expensive option and recommends the City develop a standardized process/procedure and stick with it. Councilmember Holden asked if, after so many violations, there is way of combining them or looking at them differently. City Attorney Filla replied they are all misdemeanors with a maximum fine of $1 ,000 for each violation or 90 days in jail. Councilmember Holmes asked City Attorney Filla to comment further on administrative fines. City Attorney Filla stated the administrative fines could not replace traffic code enforcement as it is a matter for the courts and traffic fines could not be taken away from the traffic fine revenue from the courts. He explained it could be done for code violations whereby citations could ultimately be imposed if previous methods of code violation notification have been ignored. He stated the administrative fine system for housing code violations are enough to encourage most residents to abide by the codes. Councilmember Holmes questioned ifthe amount of fines are limited under state law. City Attorney Filla replied they are not. Mayor Harpstead questioned whether the fines uncollected could be added to property taxes.