The city of Fond du Lac is shutting down campsites for homeless people in the city. The Fond du Lac city council has approved changes to the city public safety code that allows the city to prohibit camping or sleeping on public property. The decision was made after concerns were raised by local businesses about a growing homeless population in the downtown. City manager Joe Moore says the local homeless population has seen a significant increase in just the last year. Moore says social workers embedded with the police department have engaged with homeless people to try to connect them with services to help them find a permanent shelter. Moore says some downtown business owners have expressed concerns about homeless people in front of their business. City Attorney Deb Hoffman says the city was able to move forward after a U.S. Supreme Court decision in a case from Grants Pass, Oregon that found preventing sleeping on public property was not a violation of the constitution against cruel and unusual punishment.
