City of Bridgeton, NJ Article V Violations and Penalties; Rebuttal

§ 300-35 Violations and penalties.

A. Failure to comply with any provision of this chapter shall be a violation.

B. There shall be a rebuttable presumption that the occupant and record owner of the property, according to the records of the City Tax Collector, on whose property any bulky items are placed for pickup and disposal are responsible for the improper placement of each item for pickup in violation of this section.

C. Except as otherwise specifically provided within this chapter, any person who shall violate the provisions of this chapter shall be liable to pay a fine of $35 for a first offense, $75 for a second offense and $150 for a third offense. Such amounts may be paid without appearance in court unless the summons otherwise indicates that a court appearance is necessary before the Judge of the Municipal Court of the City of Bridgeton. If a court appearance is required, the court shall, upon conviction, impose the general penalty as provided in Chapter 1, Article III, for an offense/violation. If a court appearance is required, the court may also impose remediation and community service up to 30 days. In addition, any person, firm, corporation or other entity convicted of a violation of this article shall pay all expenses incurred for the removal of said trash, garbage or refuse. Each day that a violation occurs may be considered as a separate violation of the provisions of this article.

D. For purposes of determining the imposition of penalties for more than one offense or violation:

(1) An owner of property shall have such violations and penalties applied separately to each property owned.

(2) Such offenses and violations shall accumulate on a yearly basis only, beginning January 1 of each year.

§ 300-36 Rebuttal.

For multi-dwelling-unit properties, the following process shall be used to rebut the presumption of responsibility for violations of this chapter.

A. For each instance of a violation of this chapter, the property owner of record shall be issued a notice of pending complaint (NOPC) containing the following information: the date the offense was found, the specific nature of the offense, and the associated property address, accompanied by photographic evidence of the offense.

B. The property owner shall have 10 calendar days from the issue date of the NOPC to provide the Department of Public Works the name and address of the person responsible for the offense. The reply shall be made in writing by mail (or e-mail) to the address specified in the NOPC.

C. For each offense specified in an NOPC, a corresponding complaint shall be issued as follows:

(1) To the person identified in the written reply to the NOPC as responsible for the offense; or

(2) To the property owner for failure to provide the information required within the specified time period pursuant to § 300-36B.