CHARTER ORDINANCE NO. 229

A CHARTER ORDINANCE AMENDING AND REPEALING SECTION 9 OF CHARTER ORDINANCE 224 OF THE CITY OF WICHITA, KANSAS PERTAINING TO SERVICE OF MUNICIPAL COURT COMPLAINTS.

BE IT ORDAINED BY THE GOVERNING BODY OF THE CITY OF WICHITA, KANSAS.

SECTION 1. Section 9 of Charter Ordinance No. 224 is hereby amended to read as follows:

"Preparation and service of complaints, notices to appear, and warrants.

(a)

In the event that the form of citation provided for in K.S.A. 12-4205 and amendments thereto includes a written statement of the essential facts constituting a violation of an ordinance of the City of Wichita, Kansas, as required by law and as prepared and signed by the law enforcement officer of the City of Wichita or other official designated by the Code of the City of Wichita to enforce ordinances, then such citation, when filed with the Clerk of the Municipal Court, shall be deemed an lawful complaint for the purpose of prosecution under this ordinance.

(b)

A copy of the complaint shall be served, together with a notice to appear or a warrant, by a law enforcement officer or other official or person designated by the Code of the City of Wichita to enforce ordinances upon the accused person, and the complaint shall forthwith be filed with the Municipal Court except that a complaint may be filed initially with the municipal court and, if so filed, a copy of the complaint shall forth with be delivered to the City Attorney.

(c)

If the City Attorney fails either to cause a notice to appear or to request a warrant to be issued on a complaint initially filed with the municipal court, the municipal judge may, upon affidavits filed with such judge alleging the violation of an ordinance, order the City Attorney to institute proceedings against any person. Any such municipal judge shall be disqualified from sitting in any case wherein such order was entered and is further prohibited from communicating about such case with any other municipal judge or municipal judge pro tem appointed to preside therein.

(d)

Electronic citations may be issued by law enforcement officers in compliance with K.S.A. 12-4115 et. seq .

(e)

A copy of a complaint alleging violations of Titles 6, 7, 8, 15, 18, 19 20, 21, 22, 28, 30 of the Code of the City of Wichita or any violation of the Wichita/Sedgwick County Unified Building and Trade Code or the Wichita/Sedgwick County Unified Zoning Code, may be served, together with a notice to appear, by a law enforcement officer, code enforcement officer, process server or other official or person designated by the Code of the City of Wichita to enforce ordinances upon the accused person, and the complaint shall forthwith be filed with the Municipal Court except that a complaint may be filed initially with the municipal court and, if so filed, a copy of the complaint shall forth with be delivered to the City Attorney. For the purposes of this section, process server shall be defined as those individuals designated by the City of Wichita to serve such complaints and properly authorized by the Sedgwick County District Court, pursuant to K.S.A. 60-303(d)(3) to serve as an appointed process server.

SECTION 2. The original of Charter Ordinance No. 224, Section 9 of the Code of the City of Wichita, Kansas is hereby repealed.

SECTION 3. This ordinance shall be published once each week for two consecutive weeks in the official city paper.

SECTION 4. This is a Charter Ordinance and shall take effect sixty-one (61) days after final publication unless a sufficient petition of referendum held on the ordinance as provided in Article 12, Section 5, Subsection (c)(3) of the Constitution of Kansas, in which case, the ordinance shall become effective if approved by a majority of the electors voting thereon.

PASSED by the governing body of the City of Wichita, Kansas this 12th day of December, 2017.

/s/ Jeff Longwell,       Mayor

ATTEST:

/s/ Karen Sublett,       City Clerk

Approved as to Form:

/s/ Jennifer Magaña

\City Attorney and Director of Law