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Florissant to collect $10 for each municipal ordinance violation

By Carol Arnett

The Florissant City Council passed a bill Monday night allowing the municipal court to collect $10 for each municipal ordinance violation. The money will be used to for land, construction, maintenance and upkeep of a municipal courthouse.

The city holds traffic court on Wednesday evening. Until recently, it was held in the council chamber at city hall. Recently, court has been moved to the John F. Kennedy Center in Koch Park.

In an interview after the meeting, Mayor Tom Schneider said that there were new rules set by the state legislature that required municipalities to have room for all people at the court to be able to wait inside. When the city used city hall, there was not enough room inside and the line went out the door and to the street.

Schneider said the court moved to the JFK Center so that people could wait inside. However, this interferes with programs at the JFK center. He said the city was “actively looking for a place” to build a new court building and he hopes that the city can begin building “soon.”

In other action, the city council let two bills die for lack of a second reading. Both bills were introduced by Councilman Tim Lee. When asked after the meeting why he did not move for a second on the bills, he said that after a council work session, it was apparent that there was not enough support to pass either bill. The first bill would have authorized funds for an outside firm to conduct a salary survey for the city.

The second bill would have reduced utility taxes for residents by 2 percent. The tax was raised during the recent recession. “Taxes were raised at a bad time,” Lee said, noting that employee salaries and the budget were also reduced. However, he noted, salaries and the budget have been restored.

Community Development Block Grant budget Approved

The Florissant City Council passed a bill that approved the budget for the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG).

The city will receive $214,078. The bulk of the money will be used for home improvement programs. The city’s programs will receive $159,262 and the C.O.P.S. program will receive $10,000. Jamestown New Horizons will receive $2,000 and the city will use $42,815 on grant administration.

The council thanked Housing Director Carol O’Mara and the Citizens Participation Committee for their work with the CDBG

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