Beg all you want — for now

Beg all you want — for now

City getting ducks in a row to tackle panhandling problem

news@theeveningtimes.com

Panhandling will continue unabated in West Memphis, for at least the next 90 days. Ever since a November ruling applying free speech rights to beggars, the local community has been buzzing about the persistent bands of beggars that have been working the city corners especially around the Missouri Street underpass.

A contingent of city officials attended Arkansas Municipal League meetings this month where the panhandling problem was presented. City Attorney David Peeples came away with a strong recommendation to city council placing a 90-day moratorium on enforcing any law or ordinance against the moochers or even solicitors in the city.

The reason for the moratorium is to provide time for city administration and city council to work together to rewrite panhandler ordinances that will withstand constitutional challenge.

“We are reviewing our old city ordinances that have to do with solicitors, peddling and the like in the city of West Memphis,” said David Peeples. “These activities have come under increased scrutiny, particularly the ACLU has successfully challenged a portion of the state statute regarding loitering, had it declared unconstitutional because it applied to begging and it violated first amendment rights of plaintiffs in that case.”

The city attorney got an up-close view of the matter sitting in on a presentation by an American Civil Liberties (ACLU) attorney during state wide meeting of city lawyers.

“The ACLU Attorney that handled that case met with city attorneys last week in North Little Rock,” said Peeples. “He claimed that having now successfully challenging the state statute on that subject they’d be turning their attention to challenge local city ordinances, ones that might be constitutionally suspect.”

Peeples saw signs that the city of West Memphis might be in the cross hairs of the ACLU lawyers and asked for the moratorium to avoid an early shot at the city.

“Samples of the ordinances they have been reviewing were passed out at the meeting,” said Peeples.

“They had the city of West Memphis ordinances attached to their material which means they have examined ours and may be filing litigation against us if we choose to enforce it.”

While the ACLU has no aggrieved parties with legal standing against city panhandling for now, Peeples took his own independent look at the city ordinances.

“I’ve examined our ordinances and we do have some constitutionally suspect provisions in our ordinances,” said Peeples. I highly recommend going about passing a moratorium of enforcement on those ordinances until such time as we can give proper review of those ordinances and determine what appropriate action to take at that time for effective enforcement that would withstand a constitutional challenge.”

The plan of attack is divide and conquer. City council discussed having police develop complaint, enforcement and safety studies, having the Metropolitan Planning Organization present results of traffic safety and accident reports, and the planning department to analyze zoning. The whole thing would come together under the city council police committee to eliminate constitutionally inadequate ordinances and polices and replace them with a defensible panhandler position.

The outcome needs to cite specific well studied reasons to limit panhandling according to the city attorney.

“There is one ordinance (in the state) that had actually survived the constitutional challenge,” said Peeples. “It had 28 ‘whereas’ clauses each citing traffic studies, accident reports, and other instances to help support verifying it was for safety reasons. It doesn’t make much sense to have cars and people standing out there together in close proximity – seems like common sense – but common sense is not going to win an argument before a federal or supreme court.

We need to be able to back that up and this will give us a way to get that done.”

The council voted unanimously to approve the panhandling enforcement moratorium for 90 days while working to produce a new sound ordinance.

Tracy Catt and Willis Mondy were the only councilmen absent from the meeting.

By John Rech