Ordinance 2009-42
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(0....rv HECBVEO '\ ORDINANCE NO. 2009- 4 2
g AUG 2009 ~
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\P~ l'l\N ORDINANCE OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY
<2",9 ~c::; COMMISSIONERS OF COLLIER COUNTY, FLORIDA
?S2'177.tt~ IMPOSING CML FINES AND PENAL TIES FOR THE
PATENTLY FALSE REPORTING OF VIOLATIONS OF COUNTY
AND STATE LAWS TO PUBLIC OFFICERS AND LAW
ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS, WHICH REQUIRE THE
UNNECESSARY EXHAUSTION OF PUBLIC RESOURCES;
PROVIDING FOR THE FOLLOWING SECTIONS: PURPOSE;
AUTHORITY; DEFINITIONS; NOTICE OF CODE VIOLATIONS
AND APPEALS; PENAL TIES; INCLUSION IN THE CODE OF
LAWS AND ORDINANCES; CONFLICT AND SEVERABILITY;
AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
WHEREAS, Chapter 125, Florida Statutes, establishes the right and power of
counties to provide for the health, welfare and safety of existing and future residents of
the County; and
WHEREAS, the promotion of providing efficient use of public services and
resources by deterring false reports of unlawful conduct to County public officers and
law enforcement officers is in the common interest of the citizens of this county and is a
subject appropriate for regulation; and
WHEREAS, in these difficult economic times where public budgets are
constrained and personnel numbers reduced, it is appropriate to impose fmes on those
persons who make unwarranted calls upon public officers and law enforcement officers,
which redirects those officers from responding to the legitimate needs of the public; and
WHEREAS, at the February 24, 2009, Board of County Commissioner's
meeting, the Board directed that an ordinance be prepared to fme and deter persons that
repeatedly contact public officers and law enforcement officers to investigate baseless
alleged violations of law without cause or justification, which results in the unnecessary
waste of public resources to the detriment of the entire taxpaying public; and
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE BOARD OF COUNTY
COMMISSIONERS OF COLLIER COUNTY, FLORIDA that:
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SECTION ONE:
PURPOSE
The purpose of this Ordinance is to prohibit, prevent, and abate nuisance conduct
caused by the false reporting of violations of County ordinances and State laws. The
false reporting of violations unreasonably diverts vital and critical public resources and
prevents public officers and law enforcement officers from efficiently and effectively
enforcing the law. It is in the public interest for those who misuse such public services to
be fined by the County. By imposing and collecting nuisance service call fines from the
person(s) making patently false reports, this Ordinance is intended as a cost recovery
mechanism to counter such abuse of public resources and to deter such future conduct.
This ordinance is not intended to constitute punishment separate from or in addition to
any criminal prosecution for the conduct underlying the false reporting. Nothing herein
is meant to limit constitutional rights under the federal or state constitution.
SECTION TWO: AUTHORITY
This Ordinance is adopted pursuant to the authority granted in Article VIII, ~ 1(t)
of the Florida Constitution and ~ 125.01, Fla. Stat.. The effective and efficient provision
of public services and the preservation of public resources are in the common interest of
the people of the county and are appropriate for regulation by Collier County. This
Ordinance is enacted for the purpose of holding those persons making false reports
individually responsible for the costs associated with investigating and responding to
such reports and to deter or prevent future false reports and the diversion of critically
important public resources.
SECTION THREE: DEFINITIONS
When used in this Ordinance, the following words, terms, and phrases shall have
the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
1. False Report to Public Officer/Law Enforcement Officer. A patently false
report to any public officer/law enforcement officer that an alleged violation of a County
or State law has been committed, knowing that the conduct or conditions reported do not
constitute a violation of law or where the report is patently false and the intent is that a
public or law enforcement officer acts in reliance upon the report, which results in the
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unwarranted expenditure of public resources. A patently false report is one in which the
reported violation by the Complaining Party is clearly non-existent and untrue on its face,
without the need for protracted investigation.
Examples of patently false reports include but are not limited to instances
where:
(a) A Complaining Party furnishes a public or law enforcement officer
with false, forged, fictitious or misleading verbal or written information during the course
of reporting a complaint.
(b) A Complaining Party summons as a joke, prank or otherwise,
without any good reason therefore, a public or law enforcement officer to respond to an
address where the basis of the matter complained about is false.
2 Public Officer. A public officer refers to any person authorized by Collier
County government to investigate and enforce the Collier County Code of Laws and
Ordinances and related provisions arising under State law. Such public officers shall
include but not be limited to: Code Enforcement Officers, Domestic Animal Services
Animal Control Officers, Building Inspectors, and other such County officers authorized
to enforce State and local law.
3. Law Enforcement Officer. Law enforcement officer means any person
who is elected, appointed, or employed full time by any municipality or the State or any
political subdivision thereof; who is vested with authority to bear arms and make arrests;
and whose primary responsibility is the prevention and detection of crime or the
enforcement of the penal, criminal, traffic, or highway laws of the state as further defined
in ~ 943.10, Fla. Stat.
4. Complaining Party. A Complaining Party is defined as an individual who
makes or submits a patently false report to a public officer or law enforcement officer,
which results in an unnecessary outlay of public resources.
5. Nuisance Service Call. A nuisance service call as defined in this
Ordinance is where a Complaining Party reports a patently false violation of County or
State law that necessitates a response by a public officer or a law enforcement officer.
6. Do Not Respond List. The Do Not Respond List is a list maintained by the
County containing the names of Complaining Parties who have made two (2) patently
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false reports of violations of County or State law requiring a response by a public officer
or a law enforcement officer. A Complaining Party whose name appears on the Do Not
Respond List is identified so that for a period of one year from the date of their second
patently false report, no non-emergency public service will be provided in response to
future reports of violations of County or State law.
SECTION FOUR: NOTICE OF CODE VIOLATIONS AND APPEALS
1. Issuance of notice of code violation: Public officers and law enforcement
officers may lawfully issue, or cause to be issued, notices of violations of this ordinance.
2. Contents of notice of code violation: The notice issued for the violation,
shall be by a standard form notice, which notice should include the following
information:
(a) The name and mailing address of the Complaining Party as of the
date the noticed ordinance violation was committed;
(b) Citation that this Ordinance was violated;
(c) The date, time and specific location where the nuisance service call
originated and the address where the public/law enforcement officer responded;
(d) The monetary amount of the civil fine and the deadline date such
fine must actually be received by the County's Code Enforcement Department;
(e) The mailing address of the Code Enforcement Department to
which the fmes must be delivered by or on behalf of the Complaining Party, and the
name of the payee to facilitate payment by money order, check or other negotiable
instrument;
(t) A statement of the 21-day time limit within which the Complaining
Party may file an appeal and a brief description of the appeal process; and
(g) A statement that if the Complaining Party fails to pay the civil fine
in full or fails to timely appeal the violation(s), the Complaining Party shall thereby be
deemed to: (i) have waived all rights to dispute that violation; (ii) to thereby admit the
violation; and (iii) failure to pay all applicable fines, and costs as applicable, can result in
loss of privileges and imposition of liens pursuant to this article.
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3. Delivery of notice of code violation: The notice of code violation shall be
delivered to the Complaining Party's home mailing address by United States certified
mail, proper postage prepaid. The County shall have the right, but not any obligation, to
serve the notice by personal service upon the Complaining Party or may otherwise elect
to serve the Complaining Party by any other means then authorized by law.
4. Appeals to Special Magistrate:
(a) Upon receipt of a notice of code violation, the noticed
Complaining Party may contest the notice by filing an appeal that is actually received by
the County's Code Enforcement Department not later than 21 calendar days after the
Complaining Party received such notice. A Code Enforcement Department employee
shall note on the appeal the date and time of receipt of that appeal.
(b) The appeal must include the Complaining Party's name, mailing
address and phone number, and must state in clear, meaningful detail all grounds upon
which the violation is being contested by the appeal.
(c) The Code Enforcement Department shall promptly refer the appeal
to a Special Magistrate. The Special Magistrate shall endeavor to schedule the appeal
hearing within 60 days after the Special Magistrate's receipt of the appeal (provided the
appeal was actually received by the County's Code Enforcement Department not later
than 21 days after the Complaining Party's receipt of the notice of code violation). The
Special Magistrate by order may summarily dismiss the appeal with prejudice if the
appeal does not comply with any requirement listed in subsections (a) or (b), above.
(d) If upon appeal the noticed violation is not voided by order of the
Special Magistrate, the Complaining Party shall pay in full the civil fme, plus all costs
actually incurred by the County and/or Special Magistrate resulting from that appeal.
The civil fine and applicable incurred costs must be delivered in full to the County's Code
Enforcement Department not later than 21 days after the Complaining Party's receipt of
the Special Magistrate's order that states the noticed code violation was not voided by the
Special Magistrate, and shall specify the applicable civil fme, and applicable incurred
costs, if any. All of the Special Magistrate's orders, letters and other papers, etc., can be
mailed to the Complaining Party by ordinary U.S. mail, proper postage prepaid,
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addressed to the Complaining Party's mailing address as listed in the Complaining Party's
appeal, which mailing shall be sufficient receipt by the Complaining Party.
SECTION FIVE: PENAL TIES
1. Violations of this Ordinance shall be punished asfollows:
(a) First Violation. Upon the first occurrence of a patently false report
under this Ordinance where a public or law enforcement officer has been dispatched to
private property on a nuisance service call, the Complaining Party shall be issued a civil
fine in the amount of $500.00. The fine imposed takes into consideration the gross
salaries, including all fringe benefits and overhead paid to the public or law enforcement
officers responding, the cost of all equipment, including vehicles, used in responding to
the nuisance service call, as well as, the impact upon the citizens of the County when
public or law enforcement officers are called away from their legitimate duties to respond
to nuisance service calls and the need to deter such conduct.
(b) Second Violation. Upon the second occurrence of a patently false
report under this Ordinance where a public or law enforcement officer has been
dispatched to private property on a nuisance call, the Complaining Party shall be issued a
civil fme in the amount of$l,OOO.OO. The fme imposed takes into consideration the gross
salaries, including all fringe benefits and overhead paid to the public or law enforcement
officers responding, the cost of all equipment, including vehicles, used in responding to
the nuisance service call, as well as, the impact upon the citizens of the County when
public or law enforcement officers are repeatedly called away from their legitimate duties
to respond to nuisance service calls and the need to deter such conduct. The manner in
which the Complaining Party is notified of the civil fine shall be administered in the same
manner as that for committing a first violation under this Ordinance.
In addition to the civil fine, the Complaining Party shall be placed on a Do Not
Respond List for future non-emergency reports to the County for a period of one year
from the date of the second patently false report violation. Any emergency calls for
assistance from the Complaining Party concerning emergency matters involving public
health, safety and/or welfare shall be responded to regardless of any prior false reports by
that individual. Notwithstanding the foregoing, public or law enforcement officers may
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elect to investigate any and all such reports regardless of the fact that a Complaining
Party's name may appear on the Do Not Respond List.
The Complaining Party may appeal the imposition of the civil fme and placement
on the Do Not Respond List in the same manner provided for first violations of the
Ordinance. Interest at the then current statutory rate will accrue on the unpaid civil fine
from the date of issuance as allowed by law.
2. Other Remedies. In addition to the foregoing, any violation of this
Ordinance shall be deemed a nuisance per se, permitting the County, its officers, agents
or any private citizen to take such action in any court of competent jurisdiction to cause
the abatement of such nuisance, including injunctive relief.
SECTION SIX: INCLUSION IN THE CODE OF LAWS AND ORDINANCES
The provisions of this Ordinance shall become and be made a part of the Code of
Laws and Ordinances of Collier County, Florida. The sections of the Ordinance may be
renumbered or re-Iettered to accomplish such, and the word "ordinance" may be changed
to "article" or "section" or any other appropriate word.
SECTION SEVEN: CONFLICT AND SEVERABILITY
In the event this Ordinance conflicts with any other Ordinance of Collier County
or other applicable law, the more restrictive shall apply. If any phrase or portion of the
Ordinance is held invalid or unconstitutional by any court of competent jurisdiction, such
portion shall be deemed a separate, distinct and independent provision and such holding
shall not affect the validity of the remaining portion. The application of this Ordinance
shall not prevent the County or the Collier County Sheriff from seeking injunctive relief,
any available criminal penalties or other appropriate civil remedies.
SECTION EIGHT: EFFECTIVE DATE
This Ordinance shall take effect upon filing with the Florida Department of State.
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PASSED AND DULY ADOPTED by the Board of County Commissioners of
Collier County, Florida, on this 28th day of July, 2009.
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
OFCOL~LTY]~
BY: ~
DONNA FIALA, CHAIRMAN
A TTES1:'
DWIGHf, ~~ ~~og<., Clerk
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By:
(DEPut~'etE .
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Approved as to form and
legal sufficiency:
~ 11- e t..,L
Scott R. Teach,
Deputy County Attorney
09-BCC-00526/5
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This ordinance filed with the
Secrwtary of ~;if Office the
~ day of , 2c.cfi
and acknowledgement of that
filljt rece~~,thiS 10"t\ day
of 'rs,-
By DIputy C""
STATE OF FLORIDA)
COUNTY OF COLLIER)
I, DWIGHT E. BROCK, Clerk of Courts in and for the
Twentieth Judicial Circuit, Collier County, Florida, do
hereby certify that the foregoing is a true and correct
copy of:
ORDINANCE 2009-42
Which was adopted by the Board of County Commissioners
on the 28th day of July, 2009, during Regular Session.
WITNESS my hand and the official seal of the Board of
County Commissioners of Collier County, Florida, this 31st
day of July, 2009.
DWIGHT E. BROCK
Clerk of Courts and Clerk
Ex-officio to Board of
County Commissioners..
By: Martha Ve~g~
Deputy cle~~k