An ordinance under consideration by Avalon Council could give police the power to fine the owner of any property where officers are called more than twice in a 30-day period.

Property owners would be charged $100 per call in excess of the limit. Property owners who fail to pay the fine within 10 days of receiving an invoice from the police department could be charged with a summary criminal offense and fined an additional $25 to $100.

The ordinance would apply to the owners of any property in the borough -- residential, commercial or vacant lot.

Avalon Council safety committee chairman Patrick Narcisi and Police Chief Tom Kokoski said that the ordinance was designed to address problem properties where police are called frequently. Kokoski said that police officers find themselves making "constant trips" to particular properties to deal with domestic disputes and intoxication calls.

"We're going to the same places all the time, tying ourselves up with the same problems all the time," he said.

Koksoki said that the ordinance would encourage the owners of rental properties to screen their clients more carefully.

"We're going to try to wake them up a little bit," he said.

A wake up call may not be of much help to landlords, however. Property owner Denise Dyer said that landlords could be stuck with paying the fees while not being able to evict the tenants causing the problem because of the terms of their leases.

Narcisi said that police will have a great deal of discretion in deciding whether calls were "excessive."

"It will not be used for calls of service," Kokoski said.

Kokoski said that the ordinance has been used in Millvale for more than a year.

The ordinance was presented on its first and second readings at the July 20 council meeting, and will be considered for adoption at Avalon Council's next regular meeting in August.