Three people were charged with drug offenses after this house on North Washington Street was raided by police in May 2017. The house is located between Butler's City Building and the Public Safety Building.

City council members will vote Thursday on a proposal to update Butler's codes on disruptive conduct, in an effort one councilman hopes will give police another tool to discourage illegal drug use.

At Tuesday's workshop meeting, Councilman Jeff Smith proposed the update, which would revise the city's definition of a “disorderly house” to include drug activity.

The city code currently defines a disorderly house as “all places where licentiousness or prostitution is practiced or where gambling is permitted or carried or where intoxicating liquors are kept or dispensed illegally.”

The code allows police officers to enter properties deemed a disorderly house “by whatever force necessary ... and to arrest, with or without a warrant, all persons found therein.” It sets penalties for violating the ordinance at a fine of up to $300 and up to 90 days in jail, according to the city code, which is available online at https://ecode360.com/BU1538.

Smith's proposal to amend the code and include illegal drug activity in the definition of a disorderly house comes after an election in which he said drugs emerged as the top issue for residents.

“I think the No. 1 complaint people have of Butler is the situation with drugs,” he said Wednesday.

Smith said he hopes the proposal will prompt landlords in the city to be more selective, and discourage tenants from using drugs.

“Hopefully that will make people a little more careful when they're renting,” Smith said. “(And) it would be one more item that tenants can be charged with; make it a little less enticing to be using drugs.”

Smith said he was not advocating for landlords to be thrown into jail over tenants' actions, but he said he thinks the option should be available for use against “repeat offenders.”