(a)
(1) In all cases of violation of any of its ordinances, any city of the first class in addition to any other mode provided by law shall have the right to recover in a civil action the amount of the lowest penalty or fines provided in the ordinance for each violation or, where the offense is in its nature continuous in respect to time, for each day's violation thereof, and also the amount of any license which the person guilty of the violations was required by any such ordinance to take out.
(2) The district court shall have jurisdiction in all such actions.
(b) In all cases where a fine may have been imposed by the district court, that court in addition to the power of enforcing payment of the fine by imprisonment shall have full power to issue an execution or writ of garnishment to be executed by the chief of police.