by Bradley Parsons
Staff Writer
Article 5 is about to take its first financial bite out of Duval County.
Local legislators and lobbyists have been warning the public for a year that changes in the way the State funds its courts would force the City to charge more in fines and fees. Now the votes have been cast in Tallahassee, cementing the changes and diverting millions of dollars from the City to the State. To make up the difference, here come the increased fees.
The City Council’s Finance Committee approved Monday an ordinance to impose a $65 court cost on felony, misdemeanor and criminal traffic violators. The resulting revenue would be split four ways to help pay for: improvements in court technology, the City’s Legal Aid program, personnel and legal materials at the law library and Jacksonville’s Teen Court and other juvenile diversionary programs.
The ordinance met with a mixed reaction from committee members, some of whom thought the fee too closely resembled a tax. Despite those objections, the ordinance passed the committee easily and now must be approved by the committee on utilities before going before the full Council for final approval.
“I understand the need for these funds, but I don’t like to increase costs or fees. To me that’s too close to a tax,” said Council member Jerry Holland. “It’s not a fine, because it’s not designed to be punitive. The intent is to raise revenue. I see it as a tax.”
Kirk Sherman, of the Council Auditor’s office, said the revenue would replace a myriad of smaller fees charged to court users. That revenue shifted to the state. By imposing the $65 fee, Sherman said the City would essentially break even on money and shift the extra burden to those that run afoul of the law.
“The increases are imposed at the severe end of the spectrum of court users,” said Sherman. “You can look at it not just as a cost but a fine on people who fail to plead not guilty. Those who commit the more severe offenses pay more.”
Council member Michael Corrigan wondered if criminal violators could be depended on to be consistent revenue generators.
“Are the people who get to this point going to have the money to pay for this?” he asked.
Kimberly Walsh of Teen Court said a study showed that the City collected fines from about 7 percent of the more than 7,000 felony violators in 2002-03. The City collected from about half of the 64,361 misdemeanors over the same period. If those numbers hold up, Walsh said the City should collect enough to cover the Article 5 losses.
Walsh said money spent on diversionary programs was a good investment for the City, because the programs keep young offenders out of courts and jails later in life. Less than 3 percent of Teen Court’s 436 cases in 2003 appeared back in court, said Walsh.