Geno Shipley
Sam ElliottThe Soddy-Daisy court system costs about $75,000 more to operate each year than it brings in, and city commissioners are discussing possible ways to get the court back in the black.
Finance Director Burt Johnson said last fiscal year, the city paid $180,000 in salaries and overtime to operate the court system, which only took in $105,000 in court fees and fines.
Johnson said the city's court system has yet to collect about $500,000 in court fees charged to offenders over the past seven years, and that's a large part of why it's in the red.
"That's a lot of money for a town our size," said Commissioner Geno Shipley, adding that another municipality "about 10 miles up the road" has only $30,000 in unpaid fees. "We've got to start collecting those fines."
The city has hired two separate collection agencies over the past few years to try to collect the fines, but those attempts were largely unsuccessful, said City Manager Janice Cagle.
"The majority [of people with unpaid fines] do not have jobs; a number are incarcerated and will be for some time," she said.
Commissioners asked Police Chief Phil Hamrick if, when an officer pulls someone over, the officer could check to see whether the person had unpaid fines and arrest those who do. Hamrick responded that the judge would have to issue a warrant for each individual in order for them to be arrested.
Shipley said the Board of Commissioners controls the spending of taxpayer dollars and funds the court system, but it has no jurisdiction over the court.
Another part of the reason the city's court system is in the red is the high cost of transporting prisoners to court in Soddy-Daisy from the Hamilton County Jail or Silverdale Detention Center, both in Chattanooga, said Shipley.
Soddy-Daisy, which has a small holding cell that can accommodate only two male or two female prisoners, houses its inmates at the county jail and at Silverdale. Shipley asked how commissioners might lower the cost of inmate transportation and reduce the risks involved for officers. Hamrick said the city pays officers overtime to transport about eight prisoners each week, though Cagle added that there are sometimes up to 20.
In an effort to collect more fines as well as clean up the city, commissioners also voted unanimously at their Feb. 16 meeting to authorize Cagle to hire an administrative hearing officer for codes enforcement violations. While city court can only charge up to $50 for each codes violation per day, an AHO can charge up to $500, and if the fines aren't paid, the offender can be arrested or sued in Chancery Court, said Cagle. Commissioners said they hope this will encourage citizens to clean up their property, which would save the city the cost of condemning properties that are not cleaned up.
"We're elected to take care of the tax money for this city, and I hope this man can come in here and make a difference in this," Shipley said, referring to the AHO.
The city follows in the footsteps of other local municipalities such as Red Bank and Collegdale in hiring an AHO, whom Cagle said will be paid by the hour rather than hired as a full-time employee. She said she plans to move forward with the hiring process immediately.
Email Emily Crisman at ecrisman@timesfreepress.com.