Russell City Council Approves Ordinance Amending City Code Regarding Curfew

The Russell City Council met Tuesday and approved an ordinance amending City code regarding curfew.

At the April 16 City Council meeting, discussion was held regarding the City's current code regarding curfew.

According to City staff, previous City code defined curfew hours for persons under 16 as 12:01 AM to 5 AM. The discussion of the curfew centered around increased penalties for parents and/or guardians to hold them accountable for the actions of their juveniles. Other discussion indicated the want to add an additional layer of the curfew for younger juveniles.

City Attorney Ken Cole prepared an ordinance. The new ordinance adds increased monetary penalties for parents or guardians and adds a new curfew for those under the age of 13 while leaving the curfew for those under the age of 16 in place.

The new City code now states it shall be unlawful for any juvenile to loiter, idle, wander, stroll or play in or upon the public streets, highways, roads, alleys, sidewalks, parks, playgrounds or other public grounds, public place or public buildings, places of amusement or entertainment, eating places, vacant lots or any other place normally accessible to the general public for public use within the city limits of Russell whether on foot or inside a motor vehicle or by any other means for a person less than 13 years of age during the hours of 10 PM until 5 AM and for a person at least age 13 but less than 16 during the hours of 12:01 AM until 5 AM.

According to City staff, the code is also amended to include any police officer finding a minor violating the provisions of this curfew shall warn the juvenile to desist from such violation and direct the juvenile to immediately go home. The officer shall cause a written notice to be served upon the parent or guardian of the juvenile, setting forth the manner in which the provisions of this article have been violated.

Any parent, guardian or person having the care and custody of a juvenile who shall permit or by insufficient control allows such juvenile to violate the provisions of this article after receiving written notice that the juvenile has previously violated such provisions shall be subject to a mandatory, minimum fine of $100 and a maximum fine of $500 plus costs for the first such offense and a mandatory, minimum fine of $200 and a maximum fine of $500 plus costs for a second or subsequent such offense.

Also Tuesday, the Council approved a resolution amending the personnel policy and guidelines on residency requirements for City employees.

According to City staff, before 2013, City employees were required to establish residency within the city limits. To increase the labor pool, the City Council approved expanding the residency requirement to within Russell County in November 2013, except for the City Manager. Department policy addresses required response times for emergency service, utility and on-call personnel.

Following discussion at the April 16 Council meeting, City Attorney Ken Cole drafted a resolution amending the Personnel Policy and Guidelines to remove the residency requirement. The resolution states the previous policy was an obstacle to both the hiring and retention of City employees in part by reason of a lack of sufficient housing and removes the residency requirement. However, the resolution further states it is the policy of the City to employ its residents whenever possible. Response time requirements for on-call and emergency response personnel are departmentally addressed by department policies and job descriptions.

Also Tuesday, the Council heard budget requests from Russell Main Street, Inc., Russell Area Chamber of Commerce, Western Kansas Child Advocacy Center and Options Domestic and Sexual Violence Services.

(Information courtesy City of Russell.)