Countywide : Board to Debate Fees for Collecting Fines

Two new fees covering the cost of collecting court-ordered fines will be discussed Tuesday at a public hearing called by the Board of Supervisors.

Supervisors will consider tacking on a $30 charge to all fines imposed by county courts, to cover the cost of collecting them.

The other fee would be 10% of all payments collected for victim restitutions. For example, if a person is convicted of robbing a store, and the court rules that he must repay the store $1,000, then the county Corrections Services Agency would collect a $100 processing fee for collecting the restitution, said agency spokeswoman Laurie Nonnemaker.

The Corrections Services Agency collects fines imposed by the Superior Court and most Municipal Court drunk-driving charges, Nonnemaker said. Municipal Court collects the rest of its fines and has been charging the $30 fee since 1986 from people paying court-ordered fines in installments.

State law allows county municipal and superior courts to charge both the $30 fee and the 10% restitution fee with permission of the Board of Supervisors, Nonnemaker said. Counties may assess the $30 fee even when defendants pay fines in full or opt to spend time in jail rather than pay fines, she said.

In a letter to the county Board of Supervisors, agency Director F. William Forden estimates that $53,640 would be collected each year if the $30 fee were charged, and $50,000 would be collected in restitution fees.

The public hearing to discuss the fees will be held at 10 a.m. in the Board of Supervisors’ meeting room at the County Government Center.