New Springdale Court Program Would Speed Up Warrants

— Miscreants owing fines and costs to the Springdale District Court could soon be quickly reminded when they are late with a warrant.

The City Council Finance Committee voted Monday to send to the full council with a recommendation for approval a proposal by Judge Jeff Harper that would speed up the warrant process. The proposal calls for changing the software used by the court to Virtual Justice, the program used by all of the other district courts in Washington County, Harper said.

At A Glance

Council Action

Springdale’s City Council committees met Tuesday and referred to the full council:

• Amending the graffiti removal ordinance to allow more graffiti to be removed

• A contract for the engineering of a building to hold salt and grit used for snow and ice removal.

• A contract to archive court records

Source: Staff Report

"The court brought in $2.8 million in 2013," Harper said. "The new software will help us keep up with the money more efficiently. This will help us collect more money, also."

The new software will generate a warrant each month for those who have not made their payments, Harper said. The current software does not do that, he said. Court departments in Elm Springs and Johnson, which Harper also oversees, also use Virtual Justice, he said.

"They are much more efficient in tracking monies owed to the court," Harper said. "I found a man who had owed us money for 18 years and a warrant had never been issued."

The start-up cost would be $19,050 for installation, setup and training, according to a quote from MSI Consulting Group. There would be a monthly software lease costing $1,800. The current system costs about $11,000 per year, Harper said.

The biggest expense would be the conversion of information from the old system to the new, Harper said. The cost would be $100,000, according to a quote from MSI.

The expense would be paid from the court technology fund, Harper said. The Springdale court technology fund, like all district courts in the state, receives a quarter of the $10 fee charged for allowing people to make payments on their fees and costs, Harper said. The remainder goes to the state, he said.

The new system seems to be a good deal, said Jeff Watson, alderman.

"It will help us collect money and also help replenish the fund," Watson said.

The Springdale court technology fund has $224,000, according to an email from Laura Favorite, city finance director.

The court took in an average of $3,000 per month into that fund, according to Favorite's email.

"I think we will bring in a $1,000 per month more than the software lease payment," Harper said. "We brought in $7,000 in February."

NW News on 03/04/2014

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