Misbehaving in the eyes of the law meant about $188,000 of revenue for the Iola’s Municipal Court system in 2011.
The total fines assessed, $188,007.93, is down from $215,000 assessed in 2010, but is still significantly higher than any of the three prior years.
“It’s just the nature of the beast,” Susie Call, Municipal Court officer, said of the random nature of court revenues. “You never know how many cases you’ll have from year to year.”
Roughly two-thirds of the $188,000 — or $125,595.09 — goes directly to the city through fines, according to figures provided by Call. The city brought in $26,421 in court costs, which help fund the court system through the year.
Another $21,000 was assessed for miscellaneous costs, such as restitution to victims or refunds.
The city also collected about $13,534 in fines, which then go to the state’s Law Enforcement Training Center, another $750 goes to the Alcohol Drug and Safety Action Program (ADSAP) for those convicted of alcohol-related crimes.
In 2010, motorists were convicted of 753 traffic violations, up substantially from the 521 convicted in 2009 and the 490 in 2008.
Call said final breakdowns of the types of convictions in 2011 won’t be compiled until after the new year arrives.
It should also be noted that the city continues to work to recoup uncollected fines through the years, to the tune of $72,210.93.
Those cases remain on the books in case the city ever gets an opportunity to collect the fines from the state through such things as income tax refunds. Call and Municipal Court Judge Thomas Saxton have acknowledged that the chances of collecting on the oldest accounts — some of which date back to the early 1990s — are slim.
Unpaid fines equal about 2 percent of all income generated through the Municipal Court system.
Take away the active collections, in which defendants have agreed to pay fines in a specified time, and the uncollected fines total drops to about three-quarters of a percent.
THE ALLEN County District Court system looks to have a workload roughly equivalent to the past few years, according to preliminary numbers.
To date, the Allen County Magistrate and District courts have handled 1,784 criminal cases, 1,245 are considered traffic infractions.
The courts combined handled 1,834 cases in 2010 and 1,776 in 2009.
Revenue figures were not yet available for the county.
