Breaking the law in Hinesville is getting more expensive.
In August, violators of city laws will see a $4 increase on fines they are assessed to fund what officials say is a much-needed electronic filing system for city court.
According to court clerk Mary Dowd, the idea to add a technology fee to tickets arose because the state now requests courts to submit as many citations electronically as possible. The local court is trying to get rid of paper submissions all together.
Dowd said the Hinesville court system has had trouble meeting the state’s request in the past two years because of technology frustrations.
The fee will buy programs from Court Software Solutions, Inc., which officials believe will be reliable.
“CSSI has been in business for approximately 29 years,” Dowd said. “They are a Georgia-based company from Acworth, Georgia, and there are over 200 courts in the state of Georgia using this system.”
Dowd said the added fee will buy the system. So it should not cost taxpayers and law abiding
citizens anything. The money will pay for all software, installation and training.
Moreover, she said, the city stands to gain revenue as the state reimburses cities 40 cents for each electronic submission.
“Over the last eight months we could have received money for 3,916 citations which equals $1,566.40,” Dowd said.
The program was approved by the city council at its last meeting and Dowd said it should be in use in a few months.