Memorandum

City of Lawrence

Legal Services Department

TO:	David L. Corliss, City Manager Debbie Van Saun, Assistant City Manager
FROM:	Toni Ramirez Wheeler, Director of Legal Services
CC:	Casey Liebst, Budget Manager
Date:	July 3, 2007
RE:	Municipal Court Fines and Fees

A recent unfunded state mandate and the passage of other state legislation affecting municipal courts in Kansas prompted staff to review municipal court fines and fees.  Based upon this review, staff recommends (1) imposing a fee for supervised probation; (2) collecting a fee for fingerprints taken in municipal court; and (3) authorizing the municipal court judge to assess costs for time served in jail to defendants, as appropriate.  Ordinance No. 8126 authorizing these costs is attached for the City Commission’s consideration. 

Staff also recommends increasing the minimum diversion fees and fines for most public offenses handled by municipal court.  An ordinance is not necessary for this action.  Finally, staff will be charging collection fees it pays to our contracting agent for collecting past due court fines to defendants as authorized by recent state legislation summarized below. 

(1)  Supervised Probation Fee

We have an administrative probation officer on staff with municipal court who supervises an average of 60 defendants a month.  His duties include supervising and conducting pre-sentence and post-sentence investigations; maintaining and coordinating contact with victims, treatment facilities and other agencies; supervising and monitoring defendants on informal house arrest; making referrals for community services and tracking defendants’ progress; supervising payment of restitution orders, and other important responsibilities. 

Currently, the City does not assess a probation fee, while other Kansas communities and Douglas County do.   Staff recommends imposing a probation fee of $150.00 to help defray the costs of supervising persons on probation.  The defendant would be required to pay the fee before the end of the probation period (usually 12 months).  A number of the persons on supervised probation have multiple cases at the same time.  The proposed probation fee will cover the defendant’s cases adjudicated together.  

Lenexa charges a probation fee of $25.00 per month; Overland Park’s monthly probation fee is $35.00; and Newton’s probation fee is a one-time payment of $120.00. Douglas County charges $25.00 per month for those in community corrections and $25.00 annually for all other probationers.     

(2)  Fingerprinting Fee

Under K.S.A. 12-4517, persons convicted of class A or B misdemeanor violations, municipal ordinances comparable to class A or B misdemeanors, and assault must be fingerprinted and processed at a location determined by the municipal court judge.  Defendants who are not processed through the Douglas County Jail at the time of arrest for offenses under the jurisdiction of our municipal court are fingerprinted by municipal court staff upon conviction.  In 2006, there were over 1,000 convictions on misdemeanor violations in municipal court.  The Court Administrator estimates that 80% of these defendants were fingerprinted in municipal court by municipal court staff. 

Currently, the City does not charge a fee for the mandatory fingerprinting.  The statute, however, authorizes the judge to assess reasonable court costs to reimburse the City for the costs associated with the fingerprinting.

Staff recommends imposing a $10.00 fee be on all fingerprinting for misdemeanor convictions processed through municipal court.  It will help the City recover some of the costs associated with operating court and it is authorized by the law.

The City of Topeka assesses a $10.00 fingerprinting fee.  Overland Park charges a $25.00 fingerprinting fee.  According to the Court Administrator, other Kansas cities are considering imposing a fee as authorized by K.S.A. 12-4517.

(3) Costs for Jail Time Served by Municipal Court Defendants

In 2006, 283 defendants served time in the Douglas County Jail for crimes committed and adjudicated through municipal court.  The defendants served a total of 1,405 days in jail according to our municipal court records.  The City paid the County approximately $49.00 per day for each defendant for each day served, for a total sum of approximately $68,000.00 for the time the defendants served as a result of their convictions in municipal court. 

The City does not currently require the defendants serving time in Douglas County Jail to reimburse the City for the costs of their incarceration.  Overland Park and the Unified Government of Wyandotte County do assess these costs to the defendants.  Staff recommends giving the Municipal Court Judge the authority to assess the costs associated with incarceration to the defendants as part of their court costs, if the defendants have the means to pay them.  The order cannot be enforced on those who do not have the means to pay.    

Minimum Diversion Fees and Fines for Public Offenses

Staff recommends increasing the diversion fees for public offense violations by $100.  The diversion fee is the consideration for the agreement to defer prosecution of a case for a period of time (usually one year) if the defendant fulfills the conditions of the agreement.  If the defendant satisfies the conditions of the diversion agreement, the charge will be dismissed at the end of the diversion period. 

The prosecutor’s office sets the standard minimum diversion fee for public offenses.  The current minimum diversion fee of $50 has been in effect for several years with no increase.  A survey of the diversion fees in other Kansas communities shows that the recommended increase in the standard minimum diversion fee is comparable with other Kansas communities. 

The prosecutors have also indicated that they intend to recommend to the Municipal Court Judge higher fines for persons pleading guilty or found guilty in court for most public offense code violations.  The Judge may impose fines in any amount that falls within the penalty provision for the law violated.  If the Judge accepts the prosecutors’ recommendations, the City will see additional revenue from the fines. 

Collection Fees – House Substitute for Senate Bill 31

Under recently passed legislation, municipal courts may now charge defendants for the cost of collecting court fines when the court uses a collection agent to collect the ordered amount.  The bill limits the fee to 33% of the amount collected.  Our municipal court currently contracts with Municipal Services Bureau, a firm that specializes in court collections.  In 2006, that firm collected approximately $90,000.00 in past due court fines.     

Staff recommends the adoption of Ordinance No. 8126, as appropriate.