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Published: July 17, 2008 05:27 pm    print this story   email this story   comment on this story  

City fines could get a boost

By Barry Porterfield
Staff Writer

Now getting a close look by Pauls Valley city officials is a proposal to make some increases to the fines given to those cited for violating a local municipal ordinance.

A list of proposed adjustments to the fine schedule has been submitted and is now under consideration by members of the PV City Council.

Local top cop, PV Police Chief Dennis Madison, is the one who put pen to paper and came up with the proposed increases that if ultimately approved by the council will be what he described as minimal for most offenses.

It also hasn’t been done in quite some time, he said.

“We’re trying to raise the existing fines and bond schedules,” Madison said.

“The cost of processing these citations and enforcing the law has gone up. We’re going on 10 years or so since some of these have been adjusted.”

According to the chief, bonds are posted allowing alleged offenders to be released from jail. In this case he believes the bond totals should be raised as a way of guaranteeing the accused show up for their municipal court dates.

As for the proposed fine increases, if approved by the council, they are kept fairly low on purpose.

“Most of the offenses are $21 increases,” he said.

“When you consider other towns in this area these are still pretty conservative.

The largest increases on the proposal are total fine hikes of up to $300 for such criminal charges as assault and those acts involving alcohol and drugs.

“The proposed fines are an adjustment on certain fines and to provide a deterrent. Things that deal with officer safety, public safety in terms of driving, are higher.”

He also stressed the actual fines given to offenders are up to the municipal judge, who is meant to use the fine schedules as a guideline.

“I understand everybody is facing the same thing,” Madison said referring to higher costs for so many things these days.

“This is based on people who violate city ordinances. These fines are simply guidelines for the judge to use. It’s up to his discretion.”

An example of the proposed changes comes with someone arrested and given a municipal charge of disturbing the peace.

In that scenario today the fine is $65. With a court cost of $25 and state fee of $19 added on, the offender, if found guilty by the judge, could be fined as much as $109.

The proposed schedule of new fines calls for the overall maximum cost to increase to $130 — an increase of $21.

In March the council took action that replaced fixed amounts of fines with the flexibility of allowing the city fines to increase up to maximum totals allowed by state law.

However, even with this set of proposed increases the top level for local fines still falls below the state level,” Madison said.

“Some of these may never be used, but they’ll be on the books. Some of these could be filed in district court,” he said.

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