By Sam Parsons

The Oskaloosa city council held a regular meeting last night and passed the first reading of an ordinance for “Alternate Enforcement Action,” allowing city police to issue civil “notices of violation” in place of traditional citations or municipal infractions. The change affects specific minor traffic and municipal violations and enables those who commit the violations to pay a set civil penalty directly to the city. City staff said that the goal behind the change is to streamline enforcement, reduce court caseloads, and offer a more efficient and cost-effective option for addressing minor offenses, and that the model they followed is based on similar ordinances currently in use in several nearby cities, including Ottumwa and Bloomfield. They added that civil penalties being remitted directly to the city rather than through the state court system could potentially increase the city’s general fund revenue.

Notices of Violation may be issued for violations of city ordinances, including but not limited to: minor traffic violations, animal leash law/animal at-large violations, open burning/garbage burning, nuisance animal noise, animal immunization violations, violations of dangerous dog ordinance, and nuisance sound amplification.

The first reading of the ordinance was passed unanimously by the council. Two more readings of the ordinance need to be conducted before it is officially added to the municipal code.

The council also evaluated City Manager Shawn Metcalf’s performance at the 6-month mark of his employment with the city. The council praised Metcalf for following up on promises made during the hiring process and agreed to raise his salary by $5,000 from $165,000 to $170,000.

The next regular meeting for the Oskaloosa city council will be held on November 3.