By Kevin Boneske
Staff Writer
ASHWAUBENON – A hotel registration and security ordinance to require lodging establishments to create and maintain a guest list with contact information was approved Tuesday, March 26, by the Ashwaubenon village board.
Village Attorney Tony Wachewicz said the ordinance is geared toward law enforcement being able to gather information about guests staying at hotels, motels or any transient lodging establishments in the village when public safety matters arise there with respect to various illegal and/or criminal matters, such as human trafficking and drug activity.
Wachewicz said the ordinance obligates lodging providers to collect contact information about guests that would be available at the request of the village Public Safety Department or other law enforcement agencies.
The ordinance directs lodging establishments to require identification of guests, such as with a driver’s license, government-issued photo identification card, credit card or “such other form as will reasonably assure that the registrant is, in fact, the person under whose name such lodging, room or accommodations is, in fact, being procured.”
Under the ordinance, which takes effect upon publication in The Press Times, the names and permanent addresses of those obtaining lodging, along with the time and room occupied, would be recorded in a register.
Wachewicz said the measure also amends the village’s bond schedule to authorize fines totaling $691 for non-compliance, similar to nuisance citations.
“This would be geared towards in the event the lodging provider would fail to comply with law enforcement’s request,” he said. “It would possible that, in law enforcement’s discretion, they could issue a citation, based upon that non-compliance.”
The ordinance received the backing of the Greater Green Bay Area Lodging Association’s board of directors.
“This ordinance will continue to enhance the relationship our lodging properties have with local law enforcement while addressing the privacy of its guests,” GGBLA President Jason Hager said in a letter to Village Manager Allison Swanson. “We appreciate Ashwaubenon taking initiative as one of the first municipalities in the area to enact (an) ordinance related to hotel registration and security.”
Wachewicz noted Ashwaubenon’s ordinance is the first one to be implemented in the area and is modeled after an ordinance in Oak Creek.
When Trustee Gary Paul asked about how long lodging establishments would have to retain records with contact information of their guests, something not specifically stated in the ordinance, Public Safety Chief Eric Dunning said that would be up to the discretion of the lodging establishments.
“If the guest checks out the next day, they can destroy the record,” Dunning said. “It’s not up to Public Safety or the village to maintain those records, and we’re not putting that onus on the establishment.”
Dunning said law enforcement will get called to lodging establishments to respond to reports of disturbances or suspicious smells, rather than going back days later to look through records.
Dunning previously informed the village’s Public Works and Protection Committee the ordinance would help law enforcement because there have been guests who pay cash and do not show any identification.