There’s been a change of the rules in Benton Township when it comes to code enforcement.
Township Supervisor Cathy Yates announced at this week’s regular meeting of the board of trustees two amendments to township ordinances have taken effect. They were approved by trustees last month and change how code violations are classified by police.
“From misdemeanors to municipal civil infractions to support the township needs for more efficient code of government enforcement,” Yates said.
So, violating a township code will result in a citation.
Trustees says the township found handling code violations as criminal misdemeanors was costly, time consuming, and after failed to result in compliance. Enforcement under the municipal infraction model will mean more options for addressing violations and the ability to have a swift hearing before a judge. Also, unlike criminal convictions, municipal civil infractions are not punishable by jail time and do not appear on a person’s criminal history.
Yates says, either way, the township expects to issue more warnings than citations and would prefer to avoid having to ticket people. She asks any resident who gets a code violation notice to contact the township office to straighten things out.
