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Home My WebLink AboutOrdinance 9035 ~ y' i ^ti. n; x c n r ORDINANCE NO. _ ~~5 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 40, "DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC LIBRARIES," OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF FORT WORTH BY ADDING SECTIONS 40-8 THROUGH 40-10 TO SAID CHAPTER 40, PROVIDING THAT EVERY PERSON WHO SHALL TAKE LIBRARY MATER- IALS, EXCEPT IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE RULES OF SUCH LIBRARY, SHALL BE GUILTY OF A MISDEMEANOR; PROVIDING THAT EVERY PERSON WHO REFUSES OR NEGLECTS TO RETURN BORROWED MATER- IALS AFTER NOTICE TO RETURN IS SENT TO THE ADDRESS OF THE BORROWER SHALL BE GUILTY OF A MISDEMEANOR; PROVIDING THAT EVERY PERSON WHO MARKS, TEARS, OR OTHERWISE DEFACES, DESTROYS, OR INJURES, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, LIBRARY MATER- IALS SHALL BE GUILTY OF A MISDEMEANOR; PROVIDING FOR CERTAIN FINES NOT TO EXCEED TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS ($200.00); PROVIDING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; PROVIDING FOR ENGROSSMENT AND ENROLLMENT; PROVIDING FOR PUBLICATION; AND SETTING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS: SECTION 1. That the City Code of the City of Fort Worth, Texas, be and is hereby amended by adding Section 40-8 to Chapter 40, Department of Public Libraries, as follows: "Section 40-8. Illegal Removal of Materials, Fine. "Every person who shall take or borrow from a branch of the Fort Worth Public Library, any book, pamphlet, periodical, paper, sound recording, film, videocassette or other property, except through the customary check-out procedure of such Library, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be pun- ished by a fine not to exceed $200.00 for each offense. Such fines shall not preclude the Library assessing and collecting all fines normally assessed by it for each day's violation of its rules, including the replacement cost of the unreturned property." SECTION 2. That the City Code of the City of Fort Worth, Texas, be and is hereby amended by adding Section 40-9 to Chapter 40, Department of Public Libraries, as follows: "Section 40-9. Return of Borrowed Materials, Fines. "Every person taking or borrowing from a branch of the Fort Worth Public Library, any book, pamphlet, period- ical, paper, sound recording, film, videocassette or other property, according to the customary check-out procedure of such Library, who has not returned the same by the due date thereof, and who shall neglect, refuse or fail to return the same within two weeks after the date of the mailing of a notice by certified mail, return receipt re- quested, to the address noted on the current Library card ~`` of the person taking or borrowing the same, shall be `` deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and, on conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine not to exceed $200.00 for each I Ti: ~' r. _ i t ~ ~:~ r offense. Such fine shall not preclude the Library asses- sing and collecting all fines normally assessed by it for each day's violation of its rules, including the replace- ment cost of the unreturned property. For purposes of such notification, it shall be the responsibility of each per- son so taking or borrowing property to immediately notify the Library of any change of address, and in case of the Library notifying such person pursuant to this Section, he shall be presumed to have received such notice if the Library has not been advised of a change of address." SECTION 3. That the City Code of the City of Fort Worth, Texas, be and is hereby amended by adding Section 40-10 to Chapter 40, Department of Public Libraries, as follows: "Section 40-10. Defacing of Library Materials, Fine. "Every person who shall intentionally or knowingly cut, mutilate, mark, tear, write upon, deface or otherwise injure, in whole or in part, any book, pamphlet, periodi- cal, map or document, picture or written or engraved or printed paper, or any sound recording, film or videocas- sette or any other Library property belonging to the City of Fort Worth, Department of Public Libraries, or shall intentionally or knowingly permit any such injury to be inflicted while such property is in his custody, or shall intentionally or knowingly injure any of the furniture or property in any building or branch of the Fort Worth Public Library, or shall intentionally or knowingly mark or deface or in any way injure the Fort Worth Public Library or any branch thereof, or any fixtures therein or appertaining thereto, shall be deemed guilty of a misde- meanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine not to exceed $200.00 for each offense. Such fine shall not preclude the Library asses- sing and collecting all fines normally assessed by it for each day's violation of its rules, including the replace- ment cost of the injured- or destroyed property." SECTION 4. Should any word, phrase, sentence, paragraph, section or portion of this ordinance be held to be void and unenforceable, the remaining provisions of said ordinance shall remain in full force and effect. SECTION 5. Any person who violates, disobeys, omits, neglects or refuses to comply with or who resists the enforcement of any of the provisions of this ordinance shall be fined not more than Two Hundred Dollars ($200.00) for each offense. Each article of property shall form the basis for a separate offense hereunder and each day that a violation is permitted to exist shall constitute a separate offense. ,: , ,~ .z .. SECTION 6. The City Secretary of the City of Fort Worth is hereby directed to engross and enroll this ordinance by copying the caption, the Penal Clause and the effective date in the minutes of the City Council and by filing the ordinance in the ordinance records of the City. SECTION 7. The City Secretary of the City of Fort Worth, Texas, is hereby directed to publish the caption, the Penal Clause and the effective date of this ordinance for two (2) days in the official newspaper of the City of Fort Worth, Texas, as authorized by Art. 1176b-1, Revised Civil Statutes of Texas. SECTION 8. This ordinance shall be in full force and effect from and after its passage and publication as required by law, and it is so ordained. APPROVED AS TO FORM AND LEGALITY: City Attorney a -i~ ~~~ Date: ADOPTED: `Z,~~~ r (.~ EFFECTIVE: _-~ pity ®f' 1F°~~t ®~°t~., ~ex~~ J~+AerER S,IL'E+il „ _.-' hACOUNT{f4®•2 TRAN® LIBRA POLIC • r• DATE '~ORTATION~PUOLIC WO ~t~FERENCE KsNl9MeER suB~ECr Ordinance Amending Chapter 40 PAGE of the Code of the City of Fort Worth 1 2/21/84 Yr G-5907 Providin for Penalties for Theft of _.__ > or Library Materials c ADMINISTRATIQ~3'.T ~ The Fort Worth Public Library loans approximately 2 million items annually Of these,. more than 100,000 are not being returned by the individuals who borrow them. The annual cost to the City of Fort Worth approximates $200,000. With the cost of the replacement of these materials rising, the dollar amount given is very conservative. The usage of the Library also has been increasing at an average rate of 10% per year for the past four years, therefore, the number of returned items has also increased proportionately. With the consistent decrease in the Library's purchasing power and actual dollars, the amount of loss incurred. because items were not returned equalled one-third of the annual appropriation for materials in FY 1982-83 Also, many of the unre- turned items are out-of-print, and available only at a greater price, if at all This ordinance will allow the Library, the Department of Law, and the Municipal Court. to reclaim the City's property The Library proposes to send a certif Ted letter upon failure to return materials 42 days after the past due date The borrower already would have received two regular notices of overdue status Failure to return items within two weeks after the mailing of the certified letter will cause the filing of charges It is anticipated that this ordinance with the revised procedures will reduce the number of unreturned items Recommendation It is recommended that the City Council adopt the attached ordinance and autho- rize the City Manager to execute necessary steps to implement the ordinance RAM kc Attachment ' APPROVED BY CfTY COUNCIL FEB 21 1984 /~ City Seore.a.y of the Gi,v o£ Fort worth. Taxs~ SUBMITTED FOR THE /! ...~~~777~I/ CITY MANAGER'S ~ /,{ /p t nFFICE BY ( q /~( ( DISPOSITION BY COUNCIL. ^ APPROVED PROCESSED BV , r , ,L ORIGINATING r'' OTHER (DESCRIBE) • Linda Allmand DEPARTMENT HEAD CITY SECRETARY FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMAT-o~nda Allmand Ext 7705 L ADOPTED ORDINANCE N ~ CONTACT DATE