June 3, 2013

The second topic of discussion following the consent agenda at the June 3^rd Greenwood Village City Council meeting generated much conversation among council members. In response to recent passing of House Bill 13-1060 by the Colorado General Assembly, this discussion revolved around the ability of municipal courts to increase maximum penalties to $2,650. With this act propelling the first change to maximum municipal court fines in 21 years, it certainly merits close scrutiny.

At large, the City Council seemed to support applying Ordinance 11-13 to Greenwood Village, with the City Attorney recommending that the Council adopt the ordinance on first reading. However, one of the most alarming aspects of Ordinance 11-13 was the steep increase it proposed in terms of the maximum fine that a municipal court could impose, as the bill raised this amount from $999 to $2650. Although at first I found myself concerned by the fact that adopting the ordinance would result in more than a 150% increase from the previous maximum fine, the majority of the Council did not see this provision as a problem. In fact, having a maximum fine as low as $999 has even inhibited the court’s ability to limit some infractions, particularly in regard to the issue of overweight trucks on the roads of Greenwood Village. Because overweight trucks tear up the streets, they need to be limited in order to protect the roads themselves and thereby save taxpayer dollars in road repairs. However, because businesses could only be charged a maximum fine of $999, many companies found it less of a burden to pay the fine for breaking the law than to ensure that their trucks remained within the weight limit. As a result, many of the commercial trucks stopped in Greenwood Village are often more than 15,000 pounds overweight. After learning more about the frequency of this problem in the city, the initial shock that I felt about the sharp increase in fines was replaced by an understanding that the most effective laws may be ones that not only provide for a punishment when a misdemeanor occurs, but also ones that serve as a deterrent from the offense being committed in the first place. Therefore, greater consequences are often necessary in order to deter individuals from consciously breaking the law.

Also garnering support for the bill within the Council was the possibility that raising the maximum fine could afford the courts more discretion in deciding penalties on a specific case-by-case basis. Personally, I believe that judicial discretion is vital for any court system. In order for the justice system to be as fair and responsive as possible, judges should have the ability to decide the appropriate punishments for each case, without being too limited in the amount they can fine. With this in mind, I agree with the Council’s decision to pass Ordinance 11-13 on first reading.