Magee’s board of alderman change curfew times effective April 9.
The curfew which had been in place for the city was from 11 p.m. until 6 a.m. At Monday’s board meeting the issue surfaced and aldermen were faced with enforcement issues and decided to make some changes to the existing order.
The reason is that some of the offenders in the community were not being compliant to the city’s emergency order following the governor’s order to “shelter in place”. The new time effective Thursday will be from 10 p.m. until 5 a.m. Alderman Lane Steele reported that no productive activities are happening on the streets after 10 p.m.
There was discussion police department about having teeth to the law if there were violations. Attorney Bruce Smith advised the board they could use the guidelines established by the governor’s emergency order which allows up to a $500 fine and six months in jail. The board made the decision they would use a standard of a $500 fine and 30 days in jail. The board stated this would be for each offense.
Alderman Patrick Brown cited the increase of foot traffic in certain wards during late night in the city.
This does however allow for exception for workers of what is deemed as essential services. Those people should have written permission from their employers identifying them as essential workers.
