The City of Westphalia has establish a municipal court to put some enforcement authority behind city ordinances aimed at cleaning up city nuisances and health risks in the city. Mayor Drake Dieker says establishing the local court was a required move in order to enforce city ordinances that, in some cases, were being ignored. He says many times the same complaints have been lodged literally for decades, adding that it’s a situation in some cases where the city has sent letters regarding violations, and it’s completely ignored. Dieker says without a court to enforce them, they really haven’t gotten anywhere. An ordinance published in this week’s Anderson County Review sets forth the establishment and operation of the court, scheduling a court of session every other month on the second Tuesday at 6:00 in the evening at Westphalia City Hall.
Dieker says the primary issues in Westphalia are dilapidated structures and other nuisances, as well as dogs running at large, which the city previously had no documentation, ownership or vaccination records. He says the city recently hosted the registration date which received a solid response from city residents.
