Fowler Municipal Code Ch. 2 Penalty Provisions and Recovery of Enforcement Costs

(a) No person shall violate any provision or fail to comply with any of the requirements of this Code or the provisions of any code adopted by reference by this Code. Any person violating any of the provisions or failing to comply with any of the requirements of this Code, or of any such code adopted by reference, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor unless:

(1) Such Code provision makes the violation thereof an infraction; or

(2) The City Attorney files a complaint charging the offense as an infraction, or otherwise directs that a citation be issued as an infraction; or

(3) The court, with the consent of the defendant, determines that the offense is an infraction, in which event the case shall proceed as if the defendant had been arraigned on an infraction complaint.

Any person convicted of a misdemeanor under the provisions of this Code herein made shall be punishable by a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000.00), or by imprisonment in the jail of the City or in the county jail for a period of not more than six (6) months, or by both such fine and imprisonment.

Any person convicted of an infraction under the provisions of this Code herein shall be punishable by (1) a fine not exceeding one hundred dollars ($100.00) for a first violation; (2) a fine not exceeding two hundred dollars ($200.00) for a second violation of the same provision within one year of the date of the first violation; (3) a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars ($500.00) for each additional violation of the same provision within one year of the date of the first violation.

(b) Any person violating any of the provisions or failing to comply with any of the requirements of this Code shall be guilty of an infraction if the Code provision under which the person is charged makes the violation thereof an infraction, or if the City Attorney elects to treat such violation as an infraction in accordance with subsection (a) of this section. Every violation determined to be an infraction shall be punishable as provided by the general laws of the State for violations of city ordinances. Except as otherwise provided by law, all provisions of law or ordinances relating to misdemeanors shall apply to infractions.

(c) Each such person shall be guilty of a separate offense for each and every day during any portion of which any violation of any provision of this Code is committed, continued, or permitted by such person and shall be punished accordingly.

(d) In all cases where the same offense is made punishable or is created by different clauses or sections of this Code, the City Attorney may elect under which to proceed; but not more than one recovery shall be had against the same person for the same offense.

(e) In addition to the penalties provided by this section, any condition caused or permitted to exist in violation of any of the provisions of this Code, or the provisions of any code adopted by reference by this Code, shall be deemed a public nuisance and may be summarily abated by the City, and each day such condition continues shall be recorded as a new and separate offense.

(Ord. 96-5 § 1, 11-14-96)

Whenever in this Code any act or omission is made unlawful, it shall include causing, permitting, aiding, abetting, suffering, or concealing the fact of such act or omission.

The provisions of this Code which declare certain crimes to be punishable as therein mentioned devolve a duty upon the court authorized to pass sentence to determine and impose the punishment described.

Whenever in this Code the punishment for a crime is left undetermined between certain limits, the punishment to be inflicted in a particular case shall be determined by the court authorized to pass sentence, within such limits as may be prescribed by this Code.

Every person found guilty of violating any of the provisions of this Code and sentenced to imprisonment shall be imprisoned in the County Jail.

The amount of any fee, service charge, utility charge, license, or tax of any nature whatsoever imposed by any provision of this Code shall be deemed a civil debt owing to the City. An action may be commenced in the name of the City in any court of competent jurisdiction for the collection of the amount of any such delinquent or unpaid fee, service charge, utility charge, license, or tax, together with any penalties applicable thereto as prescribed by this Code. The remedy prescribed by this section shall be cumulative, and the use of an action to collect such an amount as a debt by civil action shall not bar the use of any other remedy provided by this Code or by law for the purpose of enforcing the provisions thereof.

The violation of any administrative provisions of this Code by any officer or employee of the City may be deemed a failure to perform the duties or to observe the rules or regulations of the department, office, or board within the meaning of the rules and regulations of the City or of the civil service regulations of the City.

See Title 5, Chapter 23.

(Ord. 2004-15 § 2, 12-2-04; Ord. No. 2017-03, § 4, 8-15-2017)