§ 1-16. Appearance tickets.

(a)

It is determined to be in the public interest that the issuance and service of appearance tickets by certain public servants other than police officers in cases of particular violations of the city Code be authorized, as provided by the laws of the state and by the provisions of this section. "Public servants" shall be construed to mean those officers and/or employees of the city designated in this section.

(b)

Appearance tickets shall be in the form and shall contain such provisions and shall be issued and served as provided by Act No. 366 of the Public Acts of Michigan of 1984 (MCL 764.9f, MSA 28.868(6)), as amended.

(c)

A city officer and/or employee who has reasonable cause to believe that a person has committed a violation or offense of an ordinance or provision of this Code which the officer/employee has been designated by this Code or by the provisions of this section to enforce is authorized to issue and serve upon the violator an appearance ticket. The officer or employee shall first identify himself to the person to whom he proposes to issue and serve an appearance ticket and shall present his credentials upon demand. The authority to issue and serve appearance tickets shall not include the authority to arrest any person.

(d)

The following city officers and/or employees are authorized to issue and serve appearance tickets, subject to the limitations set forth in subsection (e) of this section:

(1)

City building inspector.

(2)

Fire inspector as defined in section 42-3.

(3)

City code enforcement officer.

(4)

Any other city officer and/or employee designated by the city commission or the city manager to have the responsibility of enforcement of a specified section or sections of this Code.

(e)

A city officer/employee authorized to issue and serve an appearance ticket shall be limited in the exercise of that authority to those particular offenses or classes of offenses contained in this Code which he is specifically or by reference charged to enforce, provided that the specific ordinance being enforced contains a provision that allows the individual to issue an appearance ticket.

(f)

That an appearance ticket may or may not be issued and/or served shall not constitute a bar to such other prosecution of a violator as may be permitted by law; nor shall the issuance and/or service of an appearance ticket constitute a bar to the city to such civil relief as may be available or permitted by law.

(g)

When a complaint is required by law to be filed with a court in conjunction with the issuance of an appearance ticket, the complaint shall first be authorized by the city attorney and, if authorized, prepared by the city attorney.

(h)

Nothing contained in this section shall be construed to interpret, restrict, limit, define or otherwise affect the authority of police officers with respect to the issuance and service of appearance tickets, or to powers of arrest or to any other authority of police officers provided by law or ordinance.

(i)

A person to whom an appearance ticket has been duly issued and served shall, upon conviction, be guilty of that type of offense as provided for under the specific ordinance for which the appearance ticket has been issued and shall be subject to the penalties provided in the specific ordinance under which the appearance ticket has been issued.

(Comp. Ords. Rev. 1991, §§ 12.651—12.655)