A. 
Legislative intent. The Town hereby finds and determines that littering and dumping within the Town is a threat to the health, well-being and safety of the residents of the Town. As a result, the Town has determined to utilize any permissible technological means available to reduce the incidence of littering and dumping. Therefore, the Town has established a policy and procedure set forth in this section to impose liability on the owner of a vehicle in any instance where the image of the operator of such vehicle is captured digitally or otherwise recorded on Town-owned or -leased equipment throwing or depositing litter or dumping from such vehicle upon any street or other public place within the Town or upon private property.
B. 
Owner liability. The owner of a vehicle shall be liable for a civil penalty imposed pursuant to this section if such vehicle is used or operated with the permission of the owner, express or implied, in any instance where a recorded image is obtained on Town-owned or -leased equipment showing the operator throwing or depositing litter or dumping from such vehicle upon any street or other public place within the Town or upon private property.
C. 
Notice of liability. A notice of liability shall be sent by the Town's Code Enforcement Officer by first-class mail to each person alleged to be liable as an owner of a vehicle in violation of this section. A notice of liability shall contain the name and address of the person to be liable for the violation as the owner; the registration of the vehicle involved in such violation; the location where the violation occurred; the date and time of such violation. Further, the notice of liability shall advise the person charged of the court having jurisdiction to adjudicate the liability of the violation and the time in which he or she may contest the liability alleged in the notice and that a failure to contest the notice in the manner and time prescribed shall be deemed an admission of liability.
D. 
Certificate as prima facie evidence. A certificate sworn to or affirmed by the Town's Code Enforcement Officer primarily responsible for enforcing the provisions of this chapter based upon a review of the recorded images shall be prima facie evidence of the facts contained therein. Any recorded images shall be available for inspection in any proceeding commenced in a court of competent jurisdiction to adjudicate the liability of such violation.
E. 
Penalties. An owner shall be required to pay to the Town for a violation of this section a monetary civil penalty not to exceed $1,000 for each violation, in addition to any other penalties contained in any other provision of law. In the event the Town is required to institute legal proceedings in a court of competent jurisdiction to adjudicate the liability of the violation and to recover such civil penalty, upon such adjudication the Town shall be entitled to recover from the owner any and all associated costs and disbursements incurred by the Town, if any, including attorney's fees and interest upon any unpaid civil penalty calculated at the statutory rate.
F. 
Indemnification. If the owner of a vehicle liable for the civil penalty imposed in accordance with this section was not the operator of the vehicle at the time of violation, the owner may maintain an action for indemnification against the operator for any civil penalties paid as well as any costs, disbursements or attorney's fees assessed against the owner.
G. 
Defenses.
(1) 
An owner shall have a valid defense to an allegation of liability under this section if the vehicle in question had been reported to a police department or agency as stolen prior to the time the violation occurred and had not been recovered by the time the violation occurred. For the purposes of asserting this defense, it shall be sufficient that a certified copy of the police report on the stolen vehicle be sent by first-class mail to the court having jurisdiction to adjudicate the liability of the violation.
(2) 
An owner who is a lessor of a vehicle to which a notice of liability is issued shall not be liable for the violation, provided that he or she sends to the court having jurisdiction to adjudicate the liability of the violation a copy of the rental, lease or other such contract covering such vehicle on the day of the violation, with the name and address of the lessee clearly legible, within 30 days after receiving notice of such violation. Failure to send such information within the 30 days shall render the owner liable for the penalty prescribed in this section. When the lessor complies with the provisions of this subsection, the lessee of such vehicle on the date of the violation shall be deemed to be the owner of such vehicle for the purposes of this section.
(3) 
No owner of a vehicle shall be subject to a monetary fine under this section, if the operator of such vehicle was operating the vehicle without the consent of the owner at the time of the violation. However, there shall be a presumption that the operator of such vehicle was operating the vehicle with the consent of the owner at the time the violation occurred.
H. 
Nothing in this section shall preclude the Town's Code Enforcement Officer or any other law enforcement officer from taking such other action in connection with violations of any other applicable rules, regulations, statutes or laws.