School-age children in Burlington will have to get home a little sooner if the city council has its way.
Aldermen are considering a revamp of the city's curfew ordinance. A public hearing is scheduled for Monday evening, prior to the first vote by the council.
City Manager Jim Ferneau said the idea is to ease the burden on local police.
“After going through some of the events that occurred over the summer, it was really clarified how as our police force deals with issues, just the level of time that is put into dealing with all types of incidents, the further through the evening that you get, the level of seriousness for potential issues gets larger,” said Ferneau.
Children under the age of 18 can currently stay out until 11:00 pm on a school night and until 12:30 am on a non-school night.
"Our current time... is pretty much the most liberal policy that is out there for comparison communities," said Ferneau. "As we look at the proposed changes, we become one of, not the most stringent, but one of the most stringent for comparable communities in our area."
The proposal under consideration would require anyone under the age of 16 to be home by 9:00 pm on a school night and 10:00 pm on a non-school night.
16 and 17-year-olds would have to be in by 11:00 pm on a school night and 12:00 am on a non-school night.
The city said the proposal also makes it easier for police to charge a parent or guardian for repeat offenses by their child and eliminates the defense of ignorance in such cases.
