State laws hamper Cape municipal court enforcement

State laws have hampered the ability of Cape Girardeau city government to enforce municipal laws, city officials said.

Measures enacted by state lawmakers in the past four years limit collection of fines and bar municipal court judges from jailing individuals who fail to pay fines or appear in court, city manager Scott Meyer said.

It also makes it difficult to enforce nuisance laws and requirements for business licenses, Meyer said.

Lawbreakers can be cited and fined, but if they refuse to come to court and pay their fines, the city has little remedy to force compliance, he said.

"Jail is not an option for many, many offenses," Meyer said.

Jail used to be a deterrent for those who simply wouldn't comply with local laws. "It was a pretty good deterrent for folks," Meyer said.

City attorney Eric Cunningham called the state laws "very, very restrictive."

Cunningham said the public routinely demands the city crack down on those engaged in nuisance activities, such as failing to maintain their properties.

But it is difficult to address such issues because of state laws limiting punishments that can be handed out in municipal court, he said.

"Compliance can't just be voluntary,' Cunningham said.

Meyer said the limitations placed on Missouri's municipal courts makes it difficult to take action against absentee landlords who don't keep up their rental units.

"All of a sudden, you can't get anything done with them," the city manager said.

"They don't come to court. They don't pay," he said. "So what are you left to do?" he said.

It is an issue affecting not just Cape Girardeau but other cities as well.

A number of cities in the St. Louis area have called on state lawmakers to enact legislation to allow for the arrest of individuals who fail to appear in municipal court, arguing such a measure is essential to an effective court system.

The Missouri Legislature enacted restrictions in response to St. Louis area municipal courts imposing heavy fines to generate revenue.

"We certainly think it has been abused in those cases," Meyer said, but questioned the legislative remedy.

"Municipal court was never intended to pay for itself or pay for the police department," Meyer said.

Cape Girardeau Municipal court fines are expected to generate more than $600,000 this year, according to the city budget. But that is a small share of the estimated total revenue of more than $70 million.

Meyer said the city is fortunate "a lot of good people will pay fines." But for those who refuse to comply, it is a challenge, he said.

Meyer and Cunningham said city officials have been reluctant to publicize the problem for fear it will simply encourage more people to refuse to pay fines or appear in court.

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