Casey Amends Nuisance Ordinance to Standardize Penalties

Article Summary: The Casey City Council has approved an ordinance to ensure penalties for nuisance violations are consistent across all sections of the city code. The “clean-up” measure follows a broader update to nuisance regulations made several months ago.

Nuisance Ordinance Key Points:

• The council approved Ordinance #590 at its meeting on Monday, October 6, 2025.
• The amendment aligns penalties for violations, such as those related to junk vehicles, with the rest of the city’s nuisance code.
• Fines for violations will now be set at not less than $100 and not more than $750 for each offense.
• The council plans to hold future committee meetings to discuss further strengthening its nuisance enforcement regulations.

The Casey City Council on Monday, October 6, 2025, approved a corrective ordinance to standardize the penalties for nuisance violations throughout the city code. The action ensures that all nuisance offenses, including those related to inoperable vehicles, carry the same range of fines.

City Attorney Tracy Willenborg explained that the change was a “clean-up” measure after a more comprehensive update to the city’s nuisance regulations several months ago. “We noticed when we were doing some enforcement that we missed one section,” she said. “What this does is just ensures that the various sections relative to nuisance vehicles match.”

Under the newly amended Ordinance #590, any person violating the provision shall be fined not less than $100 nor more than $750 for each offense. Each day a violation continues constitutes a separate offense.

The discussion prompted broader concerns among council members about property maintenance and what one alderman called a decline in “being a good neighbor.” Willenborg suggested the Ordinance Committee meet to discuss further revisions to address issues like junking next to residential properties and unsightly yards, a proposal the council supported.