CLEVELAND, Tenn. - An independent child advocacy group wants Bradley County to impose a $45 court fee on those convicted of certain crimes against children.
The request comes from Court Appointed Special Advocates, a nonprofit group that judges may appoint to represent abused or neglected children in the court system.
Director Suzanne Wisdom proposed that $3 would go to the court clerk's office as a collection fee and the remaining $42 would go to CASA.
Exactly which crimes would generate the fee has not been established.
The special advocates group in Bradley County also receives support from several civic groups and foundations. It is not funded by the Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth, Wisdom told Bradley County commissioners.
Without a funding boost, Wisdom said, the program that has served more than 150 children during its two-year existence may be lost.
Members of the commission's finance committee have asked for more information before making a recommendation to the full commission.
Finance Chairman Ed Elkins said the county could not oversee funds generated by the fee.
"It needs a lot more study and consideration before we make a decision," Elkins said.
He said there's a difference between imposing a fee and collecting it. There is a "pecking order" for collecting fees from people making weekly or monthly court payments.
Commissioner Connie Wilson said the request is unusual in several ways. The county budgets grants for some local, nongovernment agencies, she said.
The county also does not know how much of CASA's $87,650 budget is supported by other benefactors, commissioners said.
Commission Chairman Louie Alford said he would need to know how the money would be applied.
County Mayor D. Gary Davis said the court clerk's office would have to turn over its $3 share to the county general fund.