No decision made on noise violation penalty
Hagerstown City Council members discussed removing the jail-time penalty from the city noise law Tuesday, but didn't make a decision.
Councilman Lewis C. Metzner, a defense attorney, proposed removing jail time as a penalty last week because of the potential cost to taxpayers, including the expense of public defenders for violators.
Councilman Alfred W. Boyer asked if that would remove the teeth from the law because people then could refuse to pay the fine.
Metzner said if the defendant was an adult appearing in Washington County District Court, he or she could be sent to jail for refusing to pay the fine.
