Wayland tables weapon ordinance

By STEPH TAHTINEN

Mt. Pleasant News

WAYLAND ? At the final reading of its ordinance to restrict weapons on city property, the Wayland City Council voted to table action to allow more time for discussion.

?If we table it, we can think about it for another two weeks,? said Mayor Brad Roth. ?We?ll bring it up in two weeks and discuss it again.?

By tabling the action, the council is allowed more time to make a decision without having to start over again with three readings.

?The reason I came up with the table idea is because that doesn?t mean you have to make a decision and then start all over,? said City Attorney Mike Vance.

It was indicated that the council may table action again. Vance said that the council can table it to a definite date in the future and does not need to keep doing it one meeting at a time. However, he said that eventually the council will need to take action.

?Keep tabling it as long as you want, but at some point you?re probably going to need to either up or down it,? said Vance. He suggested that since the council is concerned about it, it could choose to table the ordinance and pass the resolution in the meantime.

In deciding between an ordinance and a resolution, Vance said that the attorney general?s opinion states the safer side is to pass a resolution over an ordinance.

?The ordinance is probably the thing that?s going to be the most subject to attack from litigation,? said Vance. ?To avoid litigation, the safer route would be a resolution. Do I think that?s going to necessarily absolve the litigation potential? No.?

The difference with a resolution and an ordinance is that the ordinance carries with it a penalty for violation and a resolution does not. If the resolution is violated, the violator could only be charged with trespassing.