'A horrible situation' in collecting court fines levied here, elsewhere

SANFORD - Florida courts are collecting less than half the amounts they have fined offenders, a new audit reveals.

In Seminole County, Clerk of Courts Maryanne Morse said collections are slightly better than the state average.

Local officials are looking at solutions to the burgeoning problem that "bogs down the entire system. Candidly, the situation is horrible," Morse admits.

Morse says one county program that began three years ago to collect traffic fines has proved successful.

"What we initiated is a system for traffic offenders who do not pay their fines in 35 days. They receive a postcard from me notifying them that their driver's license is suspended," Morse explains.

Traffic fine collection has increased dramatically from 56 percent to 85 percent since Morse began mailing postcards.

"Some judges didn't like the idea of announcing license suspensions on a postcard for anyone to see. But hey, it's public information anyway, and it was the least expensive way I could think of to collect those fines." Morse says.

Collection statistics for misdemeanor and felony case fines are more dismal, Morse said.

Statewide, offenders paid at lease part of their fines in 75 percent of the cases, but the courts collected only 43 percent of the total dollars assessed.

"We're a little higher than that but we're not doing great," Morse said.

The state figures came from an auditor General's Office review of a sample of 1,524 cases in fiscal 1988-89 in nine counties: Baker, Charlotte, Citrus, Dade Duval, Gadsden, Lee, Orange and Pinellas.

The cases had fines and fees totaling $429,856 due by June 30, 1990. Only $183,161 was collected by the due date.

Morse says Seminole County currently has "$9 million outstanding on the books." She says several inmates with very large fines are currently in jail and have d3termined amount of time to pay fines. Due date for compliance is the last day a fine may be paid before it is delinquent. Morse says excluding "failure to comply cases, Seminole County is owed between $4 and $5 million in fines."

"And there is no provision for the clerk to enforce collection. Our only option is to advise the judge John Doe hasn't paid his fine, but that bogs the system down. If failure to comply date is a year after an inmate is released from prison, there's nothing we can do until that date. And after a year, many inmates are history. They aren't around anymore," Morse says.

The auditor's office said the Legislature should tell the Department of Corrections and Supreme Court to look for ways to get prisoners to pay before they are free of court jurisdiction.

The Supreme Court should look at new penalties for those who don't pay, such as Seminole County's practice of suspending driver's licenses. Fishing or occupational licenses or vehicle registrations could also be suspended, the report said.

In a response, Supreme Court Chief Justice Leander Shaw said the courts agree with the intent, but the Legislature would have to enact the penalties.

The problem occurred mainly in circuit court cases. County courts received payments on 82 percent of their fines and collected 74 percent of total amounts assessed. Traffic courts collected on 86 percent of their fines and reaped 79 percent of total assessed.

But circuit courts received payments on only 19 percent of their fines and collected only t percent of total assessment, the audit said.

One reason was that the circuit courts sent 43 percent of their convicted offenders to prison, the report said. "When these offenders are released, there is generally little follow-up to collect outstanding fines and fees."

'A horrible situation' in collecting court fines levied here, elsewhere

SANFORD - Florida courts are collecting less than half the amounts they have fined offenders, a new audit reveals.

In Seminole County, Clerk of Courts Maryanne Morse said collections are slightly better than the state average.

Local officials are looking at solutions to the burgeoning problem that "bogs down the entire system. Candidly, the situation is horrible," Morse admits.

Morse says one county program that began three years ago to collect traffic fines has proved successful.

"What we initiated is a system for traffic offenders who do not pay their fines in 35 days. They receive a postcard from me notifying them that their driver's license is suspended," Morse explains.

Traffic fine collection has increased dramatically from 56 percent to 85 percent since Morse began mailing postcards.

"Some judges didn't like the idea of announcing license suspensions on a postcard for anyone to see. But hey, it's public information anyway, and it was the least expensive way I could think of to collect those fines." Morse says.

Collection statistics for misdemeanor and felony case fines are more dismal, Morse said.

Statewide, offenders paid at lease part of their fines in 75 percent of the cases, but the courts collected only 43 percent of the total dollars assessed.

"We're a little higher than that but we're not doing great," Morse said.

The state figures came from an auditor General's Office review of a sample of 1,524 cases in fiscal 1988-89 in nine counties: Baker, Charlotte, Citrus, Dade Duval, Gadsden, Lee, Orange and Pinellas.

The cases had fines and fees totaling $429,856 due by June 30, 1990. Only $183,161 was collected by the due date.

Morse says Seminole County currently has "$9 million outstanding on the books." She says several inmates with very large fines are currently in jail and have d3termined amount of time to pay fines. Due date for compliance is the last day a fine may be paid before it is delinquent. Morse says excluding "failure to comply cases, Seminole County is owed between $4 and $5 million in fines."

"And there is no provision for the clerk to enforce collection. Our only option is to advise the judge John Doe hasn't paid his fine, but that bogs the system down. If failure to comply date is a year after an inmate is released from prison, there's nothing we can do until that date. And after a year, many inmates are history. They aren't around anymore," Morse says.

The auditor's office said the Legislature should tell the Department of Corrections and Supreme Court to look for ways to get prisoners to pay before they are free of court jurisdiction.

The Supreme Court should look at new penalties for those who don't pay, such as Seminole County's practice of suspending driver's licenses. Fishing or occupational licenses or vehicle registrations could also be suspended, the report said.

In a response, Supreme Court Chief Justice Leander Shaw said the courts agree with the intent, but the Legislature would have to enact the penalties.

The problem occurred mainly in circuit court cases. County courts received payments on 82 percent of their fines and collected 74 percent of total amounts assessed. Traffic courts collected on 86 percent of their fines and reaped 79 percent of total assessed.

But circuit courts received payments on only 19 percent of their fines and collected only t percent of total assessment, the audit said.

One reason was that the circuit courts sent 43 percent of their convicted offenders to prison, the report said. "When these offenders are released, there is generally little follow-up to collect outstanding fines and fees."