Benton Harbor leaders are studying the proposed creation of a Municipal Civil Infraction Bureau to handle the payment of tickets issued to the public for minor offenses.

Speaking to the city Legislative Committee this week, City Manager Alex Little said currently, when a resident receives a ticket for violating a city code, they must go through the Berrien County court system to resolve it. He’s proposed handling these matters in-house to better serve those residents.

“This is a mechanism that will step up this process and allow us to write a ticket, and if the people want to abate the situation, they can come right down here to the window and pay for it without having to go through two or three court appointments and long delays,” Little said.

Little said when a resident pays a minor ticket with the county, Benton Harbor is lucky to get just a few dollars back by the time all is said and done. Under his proposal, the city would get substantially more.

City attorney Sara Senica said the new system wouldn’t apply to traffic tickets or misdemeanors. It would only apply to minor city violations.

“There’s noise, nuisance, pets on the beach, vending, water supply, rental registration,” Senica said. “We require our rentals to be inspected and registered. If somebody doesn’t comply with that program, they get a civil infraction ticket.”

Senica said these sorts of tickets don’t have to be written by police officers. For example, staff at Jean Klock Park could cite someone for having a dog on the beach. She also said someone disputing a ticket could still appeal to the court. Otherwise, they could just stop at city hall and pay the fine there.

The committee sent the question to the city Public Safety Committee for further review.