An ordinance that remained unchanged for nearly 30 years was amended during last night’s Knox City Council meeting.
The Ordinance Establishing a Curfew for the City of Knox was initially adopted in 1989. Mayor Dennis Estok said he felt an update was necessary as the wording in the original ordinance wasn’t particularly clear.
Many of the details remain the same such as the ages of children who are included in the curfew restrictions. As in the original ordinance, there is a section with specific rules that apply to individuals who are between the ages of 15-years-old and 17-years-old and another section for children under 15-years-old.
While the rules for older kids received a couple of changes to assist with clarification, the section that describes rules for children who are under 15-years-old remained the same.
Another section that received no changes was the section describing why a young person would be permitted to “break curfew.” That section states that any child in public will not be found in violation if they are accompanied by a parent/guardian or by an adult specified by their parent/guardian. They would also not face any violations if they are participating in, going to or returning from lawful employment, a school-sanctioned activity or a religious event.
Other than some adjustments to wording, the biggest difference in the ordinances is that the fine for violating curfew has been added to the ordinance itself. Estok said that before, the $50 fine was listed elsewhere. With the amendments, it is now listed in section 5 of the curfew ordinance.
To view the original ordinance, compared to the amended version that was approved Tuesday night, click the following link. You’ll find the 2018 Curfew Ordinance on page 4 and the original ordinance on page 5 of the March 13th Knox City Council Packet.
