MONROE — It may seem surprising to most, but Monroe does not currently have a ban on public defecation and urination. However, that may soon change, as the city looks to put an ordinance on the books to ban those acts from being performed in public. 

The measure has been discussed at the committee level, and was set for the Monroe Common Council’s main agenda on Monday, Jan. 16. Apparently, officials say, the city does have ordinances that come close to addressing the specific issue — such as those against being disruptive, disorderly or engaged in lewd conduct — but nothing definitively banning public urination and defecation. 

That needs to change, according to city attorney Dan Bartholf, who is tasked with prosecuting ordinance violations in the city. “They don’t really fit,” said Bartholf, of the existing laws. “This is something that has been on my horizon for some time now,” he said.

The proposal was scheduled for a public hearing and council vote Monday.

Mercifully, officials said, public urination and defecation crimes in Monroe usually only happen “a couple times a year” at the most.