Fine increases for parties with underage drinking
By Sylvie Belmond belmond@theacorn.com

Moorpark City officials voted to increase the social host ordinance fine from $1,000 to $2,500 to help defray the city's financial losses whenever there is an appeal.

The ordinance was established last year in response to concerns about underage alcohol consumption. It enables authorities to cite party hosts with a fine.

Since the new law was set up, authorities have issued three violations in Moorpark. One person appealed the citation and the other two paid the fine as requested, said Moorpark Police Capt. Jeff Matson.

That case illustrated that the $1,000 fine was not sufficient to cover the appeals process, said Matson, who proposed the change.

Documentation preparation, overtime for deputies, and filing and administrative costs exceeded $3,000 at the recent hearing. Although the city won this case, it still lost money during the process, according to Matson.

The $2,500 fine will not cover the entire cost of appeals but it should balance out the city's expenses for processing all social host violations as not everyone will appeal, Matson said.

When cities are involved, appellants usually don't have to pay for the court costs generated by the appeal, said Hugh Riley, assistant city manager.

While some officials were concerned that the fine increase could lead to more appeals, they still voted in favor of the change because they hope that the higher stakes will discourage local residents from allowing young people to drink alcoholic beverages at their homes.

"The long term goal is to spread the word to the public regarding this civil fine so that in the future we only issue warnings to gain compliance. Issuing the citation is our last remedy if violators fail to comply," Matson said.

Situations of gatherings that involve underage drinking usually come to the attention of authorities when neighbors call the police to complain about a loud party.