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30 Oct 2009 11:55am | Posted by Steve Rogers | Steve Rogers' Column
A Pot of Gold at the End of the Rainbow
Columbus may have as much as $1 million lying around, money it desperately could use given flat, if not declining, sales tax revenues and growing demands for services. The problem is getting to it. The money is in unpaid municipal court fines and fees. I say $1 million because that's an estimate; no one really knows for sure, but everyone agrees the dollar figure is significant. The inability to put a finger on the amount is symptomatic of the problem. The city's court records apparently aren't what they could be in this technological age. Files, even those that are computerized, are disorganized. Furthermore, the court computers don't sync well with the police department's so it's difficult for the two to work together to try to settle up some of these old debts. And the more people get away with not paying what they owe on fines, the more the word spreads among offenders not to worry about it. Police Chief Joe St. John, in an off-handed remark during a recent City Council meeting, said both departments are working on the problem. It's going to take more than that. Mayor Robert Smith and the City Council must make it a priority. If it takes a personal visit with all the parties involved to understand -- and fix -- the problem, so be it. We've ignored it too long. Taxpayers don't want to hear how the city doesn't have the money to patch potholes, pave streets, clean out ditches or beautify the city when a pot of gold sits untapped. This summer, the Starkville Police Department and Municipal Court teamed up for a similar crackdown. They widely publicized it to give offenders a chance to pay up on their. Then officers started rounding people up. In four months, more than $500,000 has been added to the city's coffers. That's cold, hard cash. Yes, Columbus must work out the computer logistics between police and the courts to prevent this situation from reoccurring. But we shouldn't wait months for that to happen before we address the existing issue. If it has to be done by hand, it's worth the time and energy. Yes, we may mistakenly pick up some people who've already paid. We may even make a few constituents angry. Some city officials might complain about being held accountable. I'm sorry, when weighed against the hundreds more who have ignored their obligation, those small headaches are worth it. If we collect only 20 percent of the estimated $1 million, that's $200,000, money that could build the city's reserve, help finance annexation or park improvements, pave streets, clean out ditches or do any number of other things. The new City Council promised action. And to a degree, it is trying. This would be a good place to start -- and now.
Comments & Article Feedback:
31 Oct 2009 02:06 pm | Posted by LEO
THE PROBLEM WITH THIS IS THAT IT'S NOT A POT OF GOLD IN REALITY. IT'S A POT OF GOLD ON PAPER. YES THERE'S LOTS OF MONEY SITTING THERE ON FINES AND FEES AS LONG AS THOSE PEOPLE PAY THOSE FINES AND FEES. YOU CAN LOCK PEOPLE IN JAIL FOR NOT PAYING THOSE FINES, BUT IF THEY CHOOSE TO SIT THAT TIME IN JAIL, NOT ONLY ARE YOU NOT GETTING THE FINE BUT THE CITY IS PAYING $25 A DAY FOR THOSE PEOPLE TO SIT THERE. YOU'RE NOT MAKING MONEY, YOU'RE SPENDING MONEY. IF THE JUDGE ISSUES A WARRANT FOR CONTEMPT OF COURT FOR FAILURE TO PAY FINES, THE OFFICERS LOCK THEM UP ON THE WARRANTS BUT A MUNICIPAL JUDGE DOES NOT HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO MAKE THE PERSON SIT IN JAIL UNTIL THE FINE IS PAID. JUSTICE COURT HAS THAT AUTHORITY, MUNICIPAL DOES NOT. ALL OF THOSE FINES SITTING THERE ONLY GOOD WHEN THOSE PEOPLE PAY IT, IF THEY DON'T THEY JUST KEEP BONDING ON THE CONTEMPT OF COURT CHARGES. THE LAW NEEDS TO BE CHANGED TO GIVE THE MUNICIPAL COURT JUDGE SOMETHING TO WORK WITH.
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