By By Laura Courson, Staff Writer
City prepares new ordinance
The Atmore City Council wants litter bugs to "bug off."
In an effort to reduce litter within the city of Atmore, the city council has prepared an ordinance that will stiffen litter fines and regulations.
The new ordinance is designed to reduce the appearance of trash and "junk" within the city limits.
Mayor Howard Shell hopes that the implementation of the ordinance will assist in preparation for the upcoming visit of Gov. Don Siegelman.
Common litter offenses are committed by thoughtless motorist and pedestrians.
While the ordinance covers the offenses of pedestrians and motorist, it also addresses offenses that may be committed on private property and offenses that may be committed by contractors and construction workers.
Offenses on private property include, but are not limited to; failure to put trash in proper receptacles, improper disposal of household bulk, failure to replace defective household containers, and depositing household solid waste in sidewalk or other pedestrian litter receptacles.
Offenses committed by contractors and construction workers include, but are not limited to; failure to provide litter receptacles, transporting loose materials without adequate covering, lack of containers at loading or unloading operations, failure to clean loading or unloading areas, accumulations or litter at construction or demolition sites, lack of containers at construction or demolition sites, and inability to show proof of proper end disposition of construction or demolition debris.
The new ordinance has the same consequences for all offenders. The maximum fine for offenders is $500 or 6 months in jail and/or community service at the discretion of the court according to the law.
In cases of private property and contractor offenses, every day after the initial citation that nothing is done to correct the offense will mean additional penalties for the offenders.
While the ordinance has not yet taken effect, it is expected to be approved in the near future.
In other city council news, city employees will soon have more sick leave options.
At the city council meeting on Monday, Resolution 2002-07 was adopted. The resolution is an amendment to personnel policy concerning sick leave.
The resolution states that after one month of service city employees become eligible for sick leave. The resolution also makes possible the donation of time from other employees when an employee suffers from a long term illness.
In cases where an employee uses all of their own sick leave, fellow city employees may donate up to 360 of the own sick leave hours.
The sick employee may accumulate up to six months of additional sick time.
The resolution was a necessary addition to the personnel policy according to Mayor Shell.