The City of Monroe is quietly walking back its decision to enforce Mayo era fees at City Community Centers; we agree with that decision.
The James Mayo administration passed a series of fee increases during the final years of its term that imposed hardships on the public unnecessarily. They included bus fee hikes, automatic water and sewerage increases annually, and increases in fees for the use of city recreation centers and parks.
When the public started to feel the recreation center fee increases, the Mayo Administration stopped enforcing the fees but left the ordinances on the books.
When the Oliver Ellis Administration took over last year, it found the fees already on the books and began to enforce them.
Just weeks ago, citizens and civic groups were told of the new hourly fees to use recreation centers (Which Mayo renamed Community Centers) and parks, which drew negative media attention.
Marilyn Cox’s free dance classes became the face of the unfairness of the system. Mrs. Cox offers free dance lessons to up to 30 girls three days a week. For Cox, the city’s policy would cost her group $600 a month, which would be paid out of her pocket.
The Ellis Administration is now backing off enforcement of the fees, just as the Mayo Administration did.
As of this week, no civic groups, individuals organizations that want to use the community centers will be assessed a fee, as long as they accept a meeting space on a first-come, first-serve basis. Free rooms will not be available to groups serving food; such activities usually involved cleanup and additional expense.
The city is still tweaking its enforcement of city council-approved fees for the use of parks and the river-walk facilities.
However, the Ellis Administration is following suit on Mayo’s executive decision not to enforce council-approved fees. Although this administration may choose to modify its fee enforcement, the ordinance that establishes the fee is still on the books. The next administration will find the old Mayo era fees still on the books and may decide to enforce them.
The city council should revisit the entire fee schedule and repeal the ordinances that establish them and establish new rules.
The city’s decision not to enforce all of the fees introduces a new problem: Fees are established by ordinance, making them a part of the law. When the city council passes a law, and the executive decides not to enforce it, it makes the council’s decisions moot on any ordinance.
City ordinances that are violated are punishable by a maximum $500 fine and six months in jail, but whether any ordinance is enforced or not is entirely up to the mayor.
Consistent failure to enforce city ordinances could be construed as malfeasance in office.
That’s why the city’s new fee schedule should be resubmitted to the council, which would repeal the Mayo era fees altogether and replace them with the new fees.
When the city decides which parts of ordinances it will enforce and which parts it will enforce, it’s actually assuming the role of the council and the executive.
That was one of the problems of the Mayo administration. Hopefully, the Ellis Administration will continue the same failed procedures of the past.
The city’s action not to enforce the fees is a step in the right direction.
When all its revisions are complete, it should put its new fee schedule before the council for approval.
The public needs to know that ordinances passed by the council will be enforced and changed if they become problematic.
Mayo routinely ignored ordinances he did not favor; the Ellis Administration should not do the same.
