By MATT PIKE
During it's meeting on Monday night, the St. Joseph City Council approved an ordinance making it illegal to move homeless or transient persons to St. Joseph without proper authorization as well as changes to parking tickets.
The ordinance, proposed by Councilmember Jason Eslinger, passed in a 5-4 vote, with Eslinger mentioning language amendments to the bill during the meeting. The same bill was on the agenda in March, but council decided to postpone the vote to discuss the ordinance further.
Under the ordinance, the City will consider it a criminal misdemeanor for anyone outside of St. Joseph to relocate unhoused and transient individuals to the city. Currently, the city will be meeting with the St. Joseph Police Department to see what the next steps will be to enforce this ordinance. For individuals being sent for medical treatment or a court hearing, this law will not apply.
The council also approved an ordinance that will change the fine amounts and procedures for handling parking tickets in St. Joseph. The city plans to eliminate its two-tier parking ticket system, which allowed different departments to issue tickets with varying payment amounts and fee schedules. The St. Joseph Police Department began integrating a new computer service that will make it easier to write and process tickets with the Municipal Court and the Office of State Courts Administrator.
Most parking tickets, except handicapped parking violations, will include a court date and a $15 fine. The ticket will also include a "pay by" date that will be a few days before the court date. Drivers can pay the fine in person on the first floor of City Hall or online on the city's website. If the ticket is paid by the "pay by" date, the case will be closed. If the ticket is not paid by the deadline, the case will be transferred to Municipal Court for further proceedings.
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