Patterson City Council moves to cull, update old ordinances

PATTERSON — The City Council voted Tuesday to amend fire department qualifications that haven’t changed since 1919.

Before the ordinance was amended, only men could be hired to work for the fire department. Now both women and men can be appointed by the fire chief to be volunteer firefighters, if age, medical and physical requirements are met.

The council also adopted an updated code of ordinances.

City Council Attorney Russell Cremaldi has been instrumental in helping city officials clean up and make adjustments to ordinances dating back to 1907, Mayor Rodney Grogan said.

“The focus is going back and taking out a lot of ordinances that just aren’t needed today,” Cremaldi said.

Companies like The Municipal Code Corporation assists with expediting the process of removing and updating ordinances.

The Municipal Code Corporation or Municode is a company that helps cities and counties throughout the United States maintain its code of ordinances, Cremaldi said.

The City of Patterson has a contract with Municode. Patterson’s code of ordinances are in the system’s database and can be accessed on online.

“And whenever we make any amendments to our code, we just plug it in,” Cremaldi said.

But reviewing ordinances is usually done only on an as-needed basis.

“It’s against the law in Patterson to ride your bike on the sidewalk, to skateboard … but where else do you put the kids ?, ” Grogan said. “Those are some of the things that you’re going to clean up.”

Municode is supposed to solve that problem.

“Our code has not been reviewed for internal consistencies or inconsistencies, I suspect ever,” Cremaldi said. “And that’s what Municode does.

“What they propose to do with the city contractor is to look at our codes and basically make it consistent.”

Municode does not change the law. That is the role of city council, Cremaldi said.

“But when you talk about getting rid of ordinances or updating ordinances, really that calls for maybe a section by section approach,” Cremaldi said. “There are other things in that fire department ordinance that are probably outdated.”

The Municode cost for updating ordinances is $30 per ordinance or $300 annually.

In other business, the council:

—Approved Patterson Economic Development Sustainability Committee (PEDSCO) 5K run permit for June 25.

—Tabled a discussion on the 4-way stop sign at the corner of Martin Luther King and Cherry Street.

—Tabled a discussion on driving golf carts in Patterson.