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Regular City Council Meeting <br />Monday, Apri121, 2008 <br />Page 19 <br />Councilmember Pust opined that she didn't mind having the administrative fee <br />process in the City's code enforcement tool box, she didn't want it to be a manda- <br />tory step, and wanted staff to be able to use their discretion in how the process <br />should proceed, if through administrative fine or abatement. <br />Mayor Klausing opined that the ultimate goal was to have people in compliance, <br />and if not for the situation to be remedied; and further opined that the administra- <br />tive ticket process seemed less severe and less adversarial than the abatement <br />process, and more likely to produce the overall goals of improving quality of life <br />in the neighborhood. <br />Discussion included staff's current process for notice and administrative ticketing; <br />provisional language in the draft ordinance and discretion of staff through the <br />process; problematic issues with repeat offenders, with the proposed administra- <br />tive ticket process just prolonging the process; need to treat each case equally and <br />uniformly by staff, without differentiation; internal versus external appeal proc- <br />esses; and balancing the rights of individuals versus the rights of the community <br />as a whole. <br />Councilmember Ihlan opined that the City Manager, as the hearing officer, may <br />not be impartial, and recommended an external hearing officer, even though that <br />would delay the process. <br />Public Comment <br />John Kysylyczyn, 3083 N Victoria Street <br />Mr. Kysylyczyn provided two bench handouts and commented that there seemed <br />to be a lot of discussion on a minor situation and the process to remedy those lim- <br />ited situations. <br />Further discussion ensued among Councilmembers, staff, and City Attorney <br />Squires on the process for administrative tickets. <br />Councilmember Pust reiterated her position that, given the limited number of in- <br />stances of non-payment of administrative tickets, staff should have the discretion <br />to determine if an abatement or an administrative ticket was the best course to fol- <br />low. <br />Karen Schaffer <br />Ms. Schaffer expressed her confusion in following the processes, opining that a <br />judicial determination would be made based on whether the fine was paid or not, <br />not whether the violation had been corrected or eradicated. <br />Caroline Bell Beckman, Prosecuting Attorney's Office <br />Ms. Bell Beckman spoke in support of the administrative ticket process from their <br />office's perspective, noting that they had drafted the proposal, currently used by <br />