At its regular City Commission meeting tonight at Fargo City Hall, the Fargo City Commission will consider two different ordinances regarding masking during the COVID-19 pandemic. At last month's meeting, Fargo City Commissioners voted to have the Fargo City Attorney's office draft a pair of ordinances, one with a penalty and one without, to be received and filed at their regular meeting tonight.
Fargo City Attorney Erik Johnson, in a letter to Fargo City Commissioners, says the versions are "virtually identical" other than the insertion of a penalty in one version of the ordinance. Johnson says the "with penalty" violation is structured such as it is not a crime, but as a civil violation.
The commission has two options at tonight's meeting -- move forward with a first reading at the next commission meeting or to "receive and file," which means that the ordinance would have to be acted upon before being placed on a future agenda.
Tonight's meeting begins at 5 p.m. in Fargo City Commission chambers.