Council questions whether it can legally make the sheriff's office an 'ordinance bureau'

What happened

Sheriff's office staffer Jeff Fox asked the council to formally establish the sheriff's office as an "ordinance bureau" so it can issue electronic citations for violations of the county's false-alarm and animal-control ordinances, instead of mailing violators a letter as it does now. A council member questioned whether the council — rather than the county commissioners who wrote those two ordinances — actually has legal authority to make this change, since the council's role is limited to fiscal matters, and another council member suggested the commissioners should instead amend their own ordinance rather than have the council create what could become a competing one.

The outcome

No vote taken; council questioned whether the change is the commissioners' to make.

Sources

• Ordinance bureau request explained
• Council questions its legal authority
• "We're not going to vote on anything tonight"
• Suggestion commissioners amend their own ordinance instead

Also known as: sheriff ordinance bureau · false alarm ordinance · animal control ordinance · electronic citation system · citations instead of letters