§ 1-8.113. Collection of unpaid fines.

(a)

The City, at its discretion, may pursue any and all legal and equitable remedies for the collection of unpaid civil fines.

(1)

Pursuit of one remedy does not preclude the pursuit of any other remedies until the total fines owed by a person under this chapter have been collected.

(2)

A City permit/issuing department may refuse to accept an application or issue, extend or renew to any person, who has unpaid delinquent fines, liens or assessments, any City permit, license, or other City approval pertaining to the property that is the subject to a Notice and Order and fine.

(3)

Notwithstanding any other provision of the Code, any permit, license or any type of land use approval issued by the City to a person who has unpaid fines totaling Five Hundred and No/100ths ($500.00) Dollars or more which remain delinquent for thirty (30) days or longer may be suspended by the permitting/issuing department. The suspension becomes effective ten (10) days after the date the notice of the suspension is placed by the permitting/issuing department in the U.S. mail, postage prepaid, addressed to the person, and continues until the delinquency is paid in full. The person may request a review hearing pursuant to the specific permit, license or other City approval procedures if such a request is filed before the ten (10) day period ends. Continuing to operate under a suspended permit, license or approval shall be grounds for the City Council to revoke the permit, license or approval. Revocations shall be processed by the permit/issuing department and may be made by the City Council at a public hearing for which the person is given at least ten (10) days' prior written notice.

(4)

The City Attorney, at his or her discretion, may issue a criminal citation or complaint for a willful failure, without lawful excuse, to pay a civil fine for each day the fine, or a portion thereof, goes unpaid after it becomes due. For purposes of this subsection only, a fine becomes due thirty (30) days after notice is sent to the person fined at his or her last known address stating the amount of the fine, the due date, and that failure to pay the fine by the due date constitutes a criminal offense for each day thereafter the fine, or any portion thereof, remains unpaid. Such notice shall be sent by first class mail, postage prepaid and by certified mail, postage prepaid, return receipt requested.

(b)

Any violation of his Code shall constitute a public nuisance. The Director may pursue the following remedies whether or not the City is pursuing any other action to terminate an ongoing Code violation that was the basis for the fine. To compel Code compliance, the City may seek to collect assessed fines by means of a nuisance abatement lien and/or special assessment against the property where a property-related violation occurred in accordance with the procedures in Government Code Sections 38773.1 and 38773.5. Any unpaid delinquent civil fines may be recovered as a lien or special assessment against the property of the responsible person who is the owner of the property where the violation occurred.

(c)

To recover any delinquent civil fines as a lien or special assessment, the following conditions must be met:

(1)

The Director must submit to and receive from the City Council a resolution certifying the amounts of the liens and special assessments sought to be collected from each property owner; and

(2)

The total amount of the delinquent fine against the property owner must be delinquent for sixty (60) days or more.

(d)

The Director is authorized to take any steps necessary to enforce collection of the lien or special assessment, including but not limited to the following:

(1)

Request the County Recorder to record a notice of any lien or special assessment certified by the City Council;

(2)

Request the County Tax Collector on behalf of the City to collect any special assessments certified by the City Council.

(e)

All Notice and Orders shall contain a notice that unpaid fines are subject to the assessment and lien collection procedures of this section. This notice shall satisfy the notice requirements of Government Code Sections 38773.1 and 38773.5 when a Notice and Order is served on the person. In addition, the Director shall by first-class mail send notice to each property owner at least ten (10) days before the City Council considers the resolution to certify the amounts of the liens and special assessments stating the date, time and location of the meeting. The lien or special assessment shall be imposed on the date the Notice and Order for the Code violation is issued to the responsible person and become effective upon the recording of a Notice of Lien or special assessment by the County Recorder.

(f)

A person may contest the amount and/or validity of any lien or special assessment for a civil fine at the public hearing when the City Council considers the resolution to certify the liens and assessments. Such contests shall be limited to the issue of the amount and/or validity to the lien or assessment and may not consider whether the underlying Code violation occurred. Pursuit of such a contest by a person is necessary to exhaust the administrative remedies concerning a legal challenge to the validity of any such lien or special assessment.

(§ 3, Ord. 940, eff. December 24, 1998, as amended by § 1, Ord. 995, eff. April 5, 2001)