County looking at increasing fees, fines
From fines to court fees, getting in trouble could soon become more expensive for Polk residents.
County commissioners have been hard at work updating the fee structure, and while nothing has officially been amended, the currently proposed structure sees larger sums of money posed against offenders. The updated structure also affects licensing fees and other non-criminal payments, however.
“This is all proposed,” commissioner Scotty Tillery said. “You can take it and say ‘I don’t like this.’ Whatever you want to do. We’ll be reviewing it over the next several weeks.”
An updated fee and fine structure seeks to generate more money across the board, thought it remains lower than certain surrounding counties. Neighboring communities served as inspiration for some of the fees.
The updated structure affects only offenses and licensing where monetary sums are applied already.
“We’ve looked at Bartow, looked at Paulding,” Tillery said. “There’s not many counties I haven’t looked at in regards to fees. The department heads have been working with me too.”
The group agreed to return later with a tighter, cleaner version of the document after taking revision suggestions, but regardless of how it does, locals can absolutely expect the structure to eventually change.
Other documents in work are set to affect fees, too.
Tillery said the work is nearly 80 percent complete, and a new intergovernmental agreement will increase the prisoner housing fees for the municipalities for a three-year period.
County manager Matt Denton hasn’t met with the cities for discussion yet, but that’s the next step for the document.
“We’re working on a new intergovernmental agreement that we’ll be distributing to the cities,” Denton said. “It’s about 80 percent complete, and it’ll increase the prisoner housing fees for the cities for a threeyear period. I’m talking with the sheriff.”
The inmate housing fee is typically paid by the inmate themselves, and the increase is a bid to help the jails become more cost efficient for the city and citizens. Nothing has been formally approved yet, but inmates could potentially start paying more than $10 for each night they stay in jail.
Changes are coming to Polk in more ways than just fees, however. Newly appointed Polk County Elections Director Lee Ann George provided a department update and gave some insight into the upcoming November elections.
“We’re on track for the November election,” George said during the Sept. 10 work session. “Our ballots are ordered, our database is ready, and everything is on track. I started doing some work for the November 2019 municipal elections.”