Smoking ban complainers, direct your attention to the city's health department

It’s been a month and a half since the statewide smoking ban went into effect, and government officials are still trying to figure out how to enforce the law. Which you can sort of understand, because the law was sprung on them out of the blue only a year in advance, right? Anyway, the Journal Sentinel says the city’s Health Department will now be in charge of taking complaints about violations of the ban, which seems logical enough, though the city went through the usual administrative red tape to get there. Reports the Journal Sentinel:

Responding to those concerns, the city set up a work group with representatives from the health and police departments, the Department of Neighborhood Services and the city attorney's and mayor's offices to revamp enforcement procedures, said Paul Biedrzycki, director of disease control and environmental health at the Milwaukee Health Department.

The officials agreed that all complaints received by city staff will go first to the Health Department, and that the Police Department will send the Health Department all the complaints it receives from the state, Biedrzycki said.

If the Health Department receives three complaints in 30 days, or six complaints in 90 days, about the same establishment, health officials will refer that establishment to the Police Department for action, Biedrzycki said. Each letter that the business receives from the Health Department will note how many complaints the city has received so far, he said.

Police then will decide whether to send a warning letter, issue a citation or investigate further, depending on the severity of the violation, Biedrzycki said. For example, evidence that a tavern owner is ignoring widespread smoking by customers would prompt a stronger response than reports of scattered violations by individual patrons, he said.

So, violating the ban on a repeated basis will warrant an even stronger fit of finger-wagging. Look out, bar owners!