§ 9.03.09. Enforcement.

The enforcement of this ordinance shall be the duty and responsibility of the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Department, the Okaloosa County Health Department, Okaloosa County Code Enforcement, and their respective agents or representatives.

1.

The sheriff, deputy sheriffs, Okaloosa County code enforcement officers, are hereby empowered to issue uniform citations, court summons, arrests, or to issue written corrective notices to persons violating any provisions of this ordinance and may serve or execute all warrants and other processes issued by the court in enforcing the provisions in this ordinance. Okaloosa County code enforcement officers can issue correction notices, uniform citations, and notice of hearings to go before the code enforcement board. Health department agents may request the assistance of a deputy sheriff or environmental officer at the scene of a violation, and if in the opinion of the officer, sufficient probable cause exists, the officer may arrest or issue the violator a court summons.

2.

Interference with the officer attempting to enforce this ordinance, shall constitute a violation of this ordinance as well as any other criminal sanction which may be imposed.

3.

Prosecution for a violation of this ordinance shall be initiated by the officer who witnesses such offense or has sufficient probable cause or who discovers an article of litter bearing a person, corporation, company, firm, business, or institution's name or address on property of another or on any public property. It shall be presumed that any article of litter so discovered is the property of such person whose name or address appears thereon, and that said person, company, corporation, firm, business, or institution placed or caused to be placed such article of litter on the property of another or public property. This presumption is based on the tenet that all generators of such litter are responsible for such litter until such time as it has been properly disposed of.

4.

Corrective written notices may be issued to violators of this ordinance to correct an offense, in lieu of arrest. The notice shall state the date and time issued, nature of the offense committed, corrective measures to be taken and the date and time such corrections shall be made. All such notices issued shall be maintained by the issuing authority for public inspections during normal office hours. Notices mailed by certified mail or return receipt requested to the violator's last known place of residence shall be deemed personal service upon the person, for the purposes of this ordinance.

(Ord. No. 11-01, § 2, 1-18-11)