Paying Fines Made Easier

Paying a traffic ticket in Fayetteville just got easier for those with online access and a credit or debit card.

Traffic tickets and citations given out in the city can now be paid online by logging into myfinepayment.com or over the phone by calling 1-877-591-8768.

Fayetteville police Sgt. Craig Stout said the department tested the program for about two weeks earlier this month and found no issues with it.

“People were paying off higher balances,” he said. “They want to pay things off with a credit card to avoid a warrant.”

The dollar amounts involved for the city are substantial. In the month of May, the city of Fayetteville collected $90,477 from 1,261 traffic tickets, Stout said.

Most of those tickets were for speeding, which is a $145 fine in Fayetteville; not wearing a seat belt, which is a $45 fine; or not carrying proof of insurance. The fine for not carrying proof of insurance is up to a judge.

Fines can still be paid by mailing payment to the Fayetteville Police Department at 100 West Rock St., 72701, or in person.

Court Solutions, the Georgia-based company that administers the online service used by Fayetteville, charges users fees to process fines. They do not charge municipalities and only operate with verbal or informal written agreements, said founder Rich Garofalo.

Despite lacking contracts when he does business, Garofalo said that in the three years the company has been active, neither a city nor county has backed out. Garofalo said between 50 percent and 60 percent of cities and counties in Arkansas use his service.

Among the municipalities that use Court Solutions is West Fork, also in Washington County.

Pauletta Welch, West Fork District Court clerk, said since people were given the option to pay online beginning in January 2011, about a quarter of all people ticketed have decided to pay that way.

“I think a lot of people expect to be able to pay with a debit card,” she said. “They’re happy they have the option.”

Mark Foster, director of education for Credit Counseling of Arkansas in Fayetteville, said using a credit card to pay a traffic fine can make good financial sense.

“If you don’t pay it off, they have ways of throwing you in jail,” Foster said. “It’s best if you can pay it off in the next month, but putting a fine on a credit card can be the lesser of two evils.”

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