FDL City Council Passes Social Hosting Ordinance

The City of Fond du Lac has joined the Village of North Fond du Lac in adopting the state’s version of a social hosting ordinance. The City Council Wednesday night unanimously repealed their old ordinance and adopted the changes in state law.  A Wisconsin Appellate Court in 2016 struck down the social hosting ordinance based on the definition of premise and the fines for violating the ordinance. Ellen Sorensen is the Coordinator of Drug Free Communities of Fond du Lac County. She notes the court felt a $1,300 fine for violating the ordinance was too steep, but $500 for a first offense for hosting an underage drinking party still is not cheap. She says $500 is still a lot of money, it will get your attention and then maybe you will think about it.” Sorensen says substance abuse if stopped early enough benefits the community overall. She says, “If we can delay drinking in youth we then delay the abuse of alcohol as adults and then we delay behaviors that hurt society as a whole.” Sorensen tells us the cities of Ripon and Waupun were already up to snuff with the state on their versions of social hosting ordinances. Fond du Lac County, and the Villages of Campbellsport, Oakfield and Rosendale are reworking their ordinances.