Published: October 07, 2009 11:36 pm      

New sex offender ban gets OK

Changes come after legal battles over 2006 ordinance

Following more than a year of legal challenges and appeals, the Jeffersonville City Council on Wednesday updated an ordinance that bans sex offenders from entering city parks.

The update bans only those offenders currently required to register. And it removes an exemption process that had been labeled overly burdensome by the Indiana Court of Appeals.

The sex offender ordinance was first introduced in Jeffersonville in 2006, explained attorney Larry Wilder, who wrote and defended the ordinance.

Since its passage, he said, “the evolution of legislation finds itself being dictated … mandated by the courts.”

Eric Dowdell, a local resident who was convicted of sexual battery of a 13-year-old girl in 1996, applied for an exemption to the city’s ordinance so he could watch his son play Little League baseball.

He was initially denied. He challenged the denial with the help of the Indiana branch of the American Civil Liberties Union.

In June, the Court of Appeals ruled the ordinance was unconstitutional as it applies to Dowdell because he’d serve his sentence and completed his requirement to register on the sex offender list prior to ordinance’s passage.

Wilder explained that the Court of Appeals ruling — along with a few other, similar and related decisions — changed the law.

“It became clear and apparent that you as a city … need to make a decision one way or another,” he said.

The ordinance was passed unanimously by the council on only its first reading. It will still require two additional votes before becoming law. As it does, the council will have to repeal its old ordinance. It’ll also have to re-notify the county’s sex offenders of the change.

Councilman Mike Smith said he’d recently been asked why the council was passing the ordinance and whether the city had a problem with sex offenders.

“My answer was: Preventative maintenance,” he said. “We’re being proactive instead of reactive.”



In other business:

• The council passed a resolution renewing its Urban Enterprise Zones in downtown and at the River Ridge Commerce Center.

The zones, commonly called UEZs, were established in 2000 and target areas for economic improvement.

They had to be renewed by year’s end, as the zones were permitted for 10 years by the state.

• The council passed a resolution re-establishing its police and fire merit commissions.

The commissions have the authority to hire, fire, promote, demote and take disciplinary action for each department.

The council initially created the commissions in December. However, according to state statute, the board must adopt rules and regulations related to its duties within 90 days of its members being appointed.

The members were chosen earlier this year, but did not establish rules within that time period.

Wednesday’s resolution essentially restarts that clock by re-creating the boards. As a result, the council, the mayor and the city’s police union will have to reappoint members to the board.

When asked, mayor Tom Galligan and Council President Connie Sellers both said they were unsure if they would be appointing the same members.