Fort Wright City Council members discussed what they said was an increase in panhandling at their special meeting on Wednesday evening.
“Panhandling has increased a lot in the last six months to a year,” Mayor Dave Hatter said at the meeting. “I see it all over the place, but it seems like it has really picked up here in the city as of late.”
He also explained why the city has not taken serious action in the past.
“I’ve been working on the assumption for a long time that there’s not a whole lot we can do because this is about First Amendment rights,” Hatter said. “There are some constraints around this. I know people are frustrated with this—council members, residents, et cetera. But it feels to me like there isn’t a ton we can do about it.”
Fort Wright City Attorney Timothy Theissen let council know that as a citizen of Fort Wright, he empathizes with their concerns. However, he is still concerned, from a legal standpoint, with taking any action.
“Public streets are a specially protected location,” Theissen said. “This issue involves a fairly high level of protected First Amendment privilege that can rarely be prohibited or regulated in any way.”
He cited the 2017 Kentucky Supreme Court case where Lexington’s “anti-begging” law was struck down for violating the first amendment right to free speech.
“The consequences are fairly significant to a city if you cross that line into something that would be a violation of [someone’s] rights,” Theissen said. “That’s the reason why we have to be really careful here.”
Theissen suggested some alternative, “creative” solutions to panhandling in Fort Wright. He acknowledged it would be very difficult to build a case based on public safety. So, he proposed citing panhandlers for littering when possible to discourage their presence in Fort Wright. Further, he suggested erecting a sign on exit ramps encouraging motorists to refrain from giving money to panhandlers.
“The more that you give to these people, the more you’re encouraging this behavior,” Theissen said. “If you don’t want to see it, don’t give them money and they’ll go away.”
Police Chief Ed Butler said that in order to cite someone for littering, the police have to either see it themselves or be able to concretely connect a person to the incident. As of right now, Butler and his officers are going out to the interstate ramps nearly every morning and reminding panhandlers of the anti-littering ordinance.
Hatter suggested utilizing dash cameras and body cameras to diligently monitor the situation.
While city council members doubted the effectiveness of a sign, they said they were interested in reaching out to the public about this issue. They are considering putting out an appeal to citizens through Fort Wright’s social media and monthly newsletter to resist offering spare change.
Additionally, the city is looking at this issue from the perspective of local businesses.
“We can certainly reach out to local businesses, Frisch’s, Walgreens, and gently suggest to them that they not allow [panhandlers] parking in their lots,” Hatter said.
This issue continues to resurface, despite there being little the city can do from a legal standpoint because panhandling is repeatedly brought to the attention of council.
“It matters because it matters to the Fort Wright residents,” Council member Margie Witt said. “If [the residents] are uncomfortable with having panhandlers in the city, we owe it to them to look into it.”