LAHARPE — Getting caught speeding through LaHarpe just got more expensive.
LaHarpe Council members, in their regular meeting Wednesday night, approved a new charter ordinance that increases court fees in LaHarpe Municipal Court from $49.50 to $60.
City Attorney Chuck Apt, in his recommendation to adopt the higher costs, noted that LaHarpe’s old fees carried the distinction of being the lowest in the state.
LaHarpe hadn’t adjusted its court fees for more than two years, in large part because the city in that time did not have a law enforcement officer.
But with the hiring earlier this year of Brian Crites as police, animal control and code enforcement officer, LaHarpe Municipal Court will soon be back in session.
Apt said the city will have court on a monthly basis, or every two months, depending on the number of cases filed.
Crites, who is just settling into his new position, spoke to council members about a number of topics, including several complaints he has fielded about unsafe operations of all-terrain vehicles on city streets.
The vehicles are legal, although Crites said the city should consider strengthening some of its policies, such as specifying the vehicles be used only for work, that age limitations be instituted and that riders be required to wear helmets. Council members noted that some ATV riders have damaged city property by tearing up roads and leaving ruts in drainage ditches.
Crites said he was nearly ready for an extensive door-to-door campaign, in which he would introduce himself to local residents, as well as point out potential code or nuisance violations on some properties.
LaHarpe raises state’s lowest court fees
