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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04/04/2006 Blue Sheet Fee Schedule for Court Costs TOWN COUNCIL MEETING INFORMATION TOWN OF MARANA MEETING DATE: April 4, 2006 AGENDA ITEM: J.2 TO: MAYOR AND COUNCIL FROM: Frank Cassidy, Town Attorney SUBJECT: Ordinance No. 2006.08: Relating to Municipal Court; revlsmg court fees; amending Marana Town Code Section 5-6-1 entitled "Fee Schedule for Court Costs;" and declaring an emergency. DISCUSSION This proposed municipal court fees ordinance has been created based on feedback from and con- sultation with Marana Municipal Court Judge Jim West and Court Administrator Joe Teta. It is intended to streamline and increase some existing fees, to adopt certain new fees, and to clarify and simplify some of the existing language. Two sets of fees have been streamlined. The first is the default judgment fee, which in this ordi- nance is set at $65. This fee takes the place of three fees - a $38 default judgment fee, a $15 sus- pension fee and a $10 abstract fee, all of which are routinely charged whenever there is a default judgment. The second is the prosecution fee, which has been streamlined into a single $25 per citation fee, replacing separate prosecution fees of $10 for misdemeanor citations and $35 for DUI citations. The proposed ordinance will raise the $5 per citation court improvement fee (levied on all fines, sanctions, penalties and assessments) to $20. The fee will now also be charged for all parking violations, which were previously exempt. Under the proposed ordinance, half of the court im- provement fund established with these court improvement fees will now be available for use as determined by the court for training, additional contract work, temporary court help, and other similar purposes. The other half will be paid into the general fund to defray the Town's cost of providing court facilities and equipment. The proposed ordinance establishes two new fees. The first is a $5 community service monitor- ing fee charged to defendants who are permitted to complete community service in lieu of paying a fee, fine or surcharge. The second is a $40 service of process fee for orders of harassment, which will be imposed when these fees are not precluded by A.R.S. ~ 12-1809(D), which prohib- its service of process fees from being charged for orders of harassment in certain situations. This ordinance is proposed to be adopted with an emergency clause so that the revised fees can go into effect with the printing of the new "Traffic Violations Information Envelope" that defen- dants receive when they are cited. {OOOO/935.DOC /} FJC/cds 3/28/06 RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends adoption ofthe Marana Municipal Court fees. SUGGESTED MOTION I move to adopt Ordinance No. 2006.08. {OOOOJ935.DOC /} - 2 - FJC/cds 3/28/06 MARANA ORDINANCE NO. 2006.08 RELATING TO MUNICIPAL COURT; REVISING COURT FEES; AMENDING MARANA TOWN CODE SECTION 5-6-1 ENTITLED "FEE SCHEDULE FOR COURT COSTS"; AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY. WHEREAS the Town Council fmds that revision of fees payable in the Marana Munici- pal Court is in the best interests of the Town and its residents. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE MAYOR AND COUNCIL OF THE TOWN OF MARANA, as follows: SECTION 1. Title 5 of the Marana Town Code is hereby revised by amending sec- tion 5-6-1 entitled "Fee schedule for court costs" as follows (with deletions shown with stfike- ffilts and additions shown with double underlinin!!): Chapter 5-6 Section 5-6-1 FEES Fee schedule for court costs A. The following fees are established to recover costs associated with the fees charged to the town treasury for returned checks and additional costs incurred due to court non-appearance. 1. The fee for the taking of a default judgment shall be~. 2. The fee for all returned checks shall be $20 per item. B. The following municioal court fees are established. to be to allo'l: tho munioi pal oourt to impose and oolloot nO'N oourt fees and allooate oharges to defon dants who inour them. These foes shall bo imposed in addition to fees other- wise assessable by statute. 1. Any person who has been convicted of a misdemeanor criminal offense in the Marana town Court and sentenced to a term of incarceration in any de- tention facility authorized by law shall be required to pay a jail reimburse- ment fee in the amount actually paid by the town for that incarceration. 2. Upon a defendant's conviction at trial or conviction by plea agreement the Marana town Court shall impose a one time ~per citation prosecution fee against each defendant. unless a hiaher or lower amount is imoosed bv a written olea aareement based uoon the actual cost of orosecution ser- vices and the indiaent status of the defendant. in an amount set forth be tew:- a. The proseoution foe f-or a misdemeanor oitation shall be $10. b. Tho proGooution foo for a violation of titlo 28, ch3ptor -1, Arizona Rovieod Statutes, shall bo $35. {00001889.00C / 4} - 1 - 3/23/20069:46 AM FJC c. .^, prosecution foe of a higher or 10'Ner amount may be impoGed as Get forth in a written plea agreement and baGed upon the actual ooet of proseoution servioes and the indigent status of the defondant. 3. An administrative warrant fee in the amount of $20 shall be imposed to cover the Marana town court's costs for processing warrants when a Ma- rana town court magistrate issues a warrant for failure to comply with a court order, failure to pay a fine, failure to pay restitution or failure to ap- pear. 4. The Marana town court shall impose a court improvement fee in the amount of $&-$20 per citation which shall be applied by the court on all fines, sanc- tions, penalties and assessments imposed by the court with the exoeption of parl'(ing violations. 6. A suspension fee in the amount of $16 shall be imposed for eaoh suspen sion of a perGon'G driver's Iioense issued by the Marana to'l1'n oourt. Any person who has had a suspension issued by the oourt for failur-o to appear in a civil traffio violation oase or for failuro to satisfy in full a civil sanotion impoced in a oivil traffio violation oase Ghall be required to pay this fee to the court for the oost of issuing and servioing the suspension. This fee shall be applied to eaoh suspension issuod. ge. A jury cancellation fee shall be imposed on aRY party who requests a jury trial and then decides. 'Nithin the Marana town oourt, if within five days .be:: fore ef.-the trial and after the court has arranged for the paneling of a juryJQ be imoaneled. not to oroceed with the iurv trial, the party deoides to not prooeed 'lJith the jury trial. The amount of the jury cancellation fee shall ~ae-the actual costs incurred to cancel the iurv in oonneotion '.vith the oanoeled paneling whioh 3t present time varios (tvoicallv betweon $100 tQ aRfJ.-$400). 7. /\n abstract foe of $10 shall be assessed upon eaoh person requesting a court abstraot for the purpose of reinstating a driver's Iioence '...,hether the driver's Iioense '.vas suspended as a result of a oivil or criminal violation. 6. Each defendant allowed to comolete communitv service in lieu of Davina anv fine. fee or surcharae shall be charaed a fee of $5 to cover Dart of the cost of monitorina his or her oroaress on comoletina the communitv ser- vice. 7. A $40 fee for service of orocess on an order of harassment. subiect to the limitations set forth in A.R.S. ~ 12-1809(0). 8. In addition to any other remedy allowed by law, the town attorney is author- ized to institute any appropriate action for recovery of any and all monies owed or due to the Marana town court including, but not limited to, restitu- tion, fees, sanctions, surcharges, assessments, penalties, bonds, costs, and fees. A defendant who defaults in his or her obligation for the payment of monies owed or due to the court is liable for all costs of collection includ- ing attorney fees and costs, and fees and charges assessed by a collection agency licensed pursuant to title 32, chapter 9, Arizona Revised Statutes, that is engaged to collect and enforce that obligation. C. The magistrate shall retain the power to waive all or any part of fee assess- ments if any of the following conditions apply: 1. The defendant is found by the Marana town court to be indigent; 2. The fee imposed upon a defendant causes a hardship on the defendant or the defendant's immediate family; or {OOOOI889.DOC /4} - 2 - 3/23/20069:46 AM FJC 3. In the opinion of the magistrate the waiver would be in the interest of jus- tice. D. There is hereby established a court improvement fund which shall be used exclusively to enhance the technological, operational and security capabilities of the Marana town court. The court improvement fund shall be established as a designated fund account with the town treasurer. The court shall collect the court improvement fees as defined in this section and deposit them in the court improvement fund account. Half of the court imDrovement fund shall be available for use as determined bv the court for trainina. additional contract work. temDorarv court helD. and other similar Durooses. as documented in a manner reauested bv the town manaaer. The town treasurer shall invest the monies in the fund in the same manner as town funds. Interest earned on fund monies shall be deposited in the fund. SECTION 2. IT IS FURTHER ORDAINED that, since it is necessary for the preserva- tion of the peace, health and safety of the Town of Marana that this ordinance become immedi- ately effective, an emergency is hereby declared to exist, and this ordinance shall be effective immediately upon its passage and adoption. SECTION 3. Anything in Section 2 of this Ordinance notwithstanding, fees revised by this ordinance that are printed in the "Traffic Violations Information Envelope" provided to de- fendants upon receipt of a citation are effective for citations accompanied by the reprinted "Traf- fic Violations Information Envelope" containing the revised fees. PASSED AND ADOPTED BY THE MAYOR AND COUNCIL OF THE TOWN OF MARANA, ARIZONA, this 4th day of April, 2006. Mayor Ed Honea ATTEST: APPROVED AS TO FORM: Jocelyn C. Bronson, Town Clerk Frank Cassidy, Town Attorney {00001889.DOC / 4} - 3 - 3/23/20069:46 AM FJC