Saturday's Internet Edition, 5:29 PM, July 1, 2006

Sex offender ordinance being drafted for Galt
Malson asks for tighter restrictions

By Rachael Roberts
Herald Editor - As discussions about placing a repeat sex offender near Galt continue, Galt City Councilman Tom Malson is leading the way to making Galt an even tougher city for a man like Timothy Lee Boggs to roam free.
Talk centers on Boggs, 52, who completed the Sexual Violent Predator Program at Atascadero State Hospital, being released to live in supervised conditions on a trailer at the Rio Cosumnes Correctional Facility located approximately 10 miles west of Galt at Twin Cities and Desmond Road
“Both our city attorney and chief of police have already been following and reviewing what other jurisdictions have been doing concerning this issue,” said Malson. “At present there is discussion that Timothy Lee Boggs could live in a trailer less than 10 miles from Galt. He will technically be able to be free to go wherever he wants, and among the closest shopping would be our Raley’s retail center.”
These talks spurred Malson to bring a request for an urgency ordinance that will keep registered sex offenders at least 300 feet from certain, specific public and private places primarily designed for use by children.
These locations would include the grounds of public or private schools for children, centers or facilities that provide daycare services or services for children, parks, teen centers, youth sports facilities, skate parks, public swimming pools, video arcades and public or private play yards.
Malson proposed an urgency ordinance for the city of Galt at the June meeting of council. Council agreed on consensus to allow city staff, the police chief and city attorney to draft an ordinance for Galt similar tothose recently passed in the cities of Folsom and Elk Grove, and by Sacramento county.
“Since two other cities and the county have passed urgency ordinances, I simply felt if our city did not find its voice on the issue and kept silent, what message would we be sending,” said Malson. “I also thought silence could be very well misinterpreted. Out city needs to speak up and, while these ordinances may or may not stand up to legal challenges, I believe these ordinances do send a message, and this is one message our city needs to send.”
Galt Police Chief Doug Matthews said he hopes the city can give his department another tool in the fight against sex offenders in the city.
With 39 sex offenders currently registered in the city of Galt, Matthews said the new ordinance would add to an already active segment of duties at the Galt Police department.
“An officer has been assigned to make sure each registrant in the city actually lives at the address they are registered, stays at that address and adheres to any and all conditions of their release,” said Matthews. “The same officer checks in on them periodically, unannounced, to monitor them as well. These individuals are monitored more closely now than in any time ever in law enforcement history.”
As for the new ordinance, Matthews is 100 percent in support of the concept and hopes the new rules hold up in court.
“Whatever we can do to protect our children is important,” said Matthews. “If this tool helps us protect them, more power to us.”
The problem?
“I support the concept 100 percent,” said Matthews. “I just have some concerns about the overall impact of enforcing the new codes in relation to some constitutional rights issues.”
In Elk Grove it is stated that the ordinance is not intended to conflict with existing state or federal law, only to ‘add location restrictions to sex offenders where state and federal law is silent.”
Not yet tested in the courtroom, cities like Folsom, Elk Grove and now Galt are willing to set the course on new tighter restrictions on the movement of known sex offenders, and say they don’t have the luxury of the time to wait anymore.
“The city council further finds that recently the city of Elk Grove has become a targeted location for placement of sexual offenders on their release from incarceration,” reads the Elk Grove urgency ordinance, “and without such an ordinance as this, children in our community may unnecessarily be put at increased risk.”
With limited exceptions to the new rules, violation of the new law would constitute a misdemeanor punishable by fine and/or imprisonment
“Even with an ordinance like this one, don’t assume your kids are always going to be safe and stop checking,” said Matthews. “Get on line and check the Megan’s Law data base. It will tell you exactly where registered sex offenders live in relation to you, your work, church and play yards. Don’t rely on any ordinance or law to do that job for you.”
The issue is scheduled to be read and discussed by council at its next regular meeting July 5.