Recouping millions in unpaid fines again a priority for Marion leaders

Marion County commissioner
for story by Ryan Lewis 3-2-2014
Marion County commissioner for story by Ryan Lewis 3-2-2014

JASPER, Tenn. - Collecting unpaid court costs and fines in Marion County has been a frustrating venture for county leaders in recent years.

The Marion County Commission hired someone from inside the county years ago, but that person couldn't do the collection job due to some "conflict of interests," Commission Chairman Gene Hargis said.

More recently, the board contracted with a collection agency in Nashville in 2011.

"They collected nearly nothing," Hargis said.

After doing some "scratch research" by looking into two Marion County Sheriff's Department officers' records, Hargis said he found about $1.3 million in unpaid Circuit Court fines.

"Granted, one of the officers has been there 20 to 25 years, but still, that just gives you some idea," he said. "That's just two officers in the county, and it's that great [a number]."

In June 2014, there was an estimated $15 million in uncollected fines in Marion.

At its February meeting, the board voted unanimously to send the matter to the finance committee to discuss the options and recommend a course of action.

Commissioner Wayne Willis said David McGovern, an assistant district attorney for the 12th Judicial District, has worked hard to eliminate the unpaid fines and that adding a staff member or using an existing county employee could help the county greatly with the problem.

"He's done an outstanding job, but he's limited," Willis said. "He can't put an awful lot of time into that."

Commissioner Tommy Thompson said he is leery about adding another county employee to help with collections because that person might get "complacent in that position."

"You wind back up right where you are now," he said.

Willis said he did not support "going out and contracting with some fly-by-night outfit that may take us to the cleaners like the last one."

In nearby Franklin County, a local attorney is contracted to collect unpaid court costs.

"If he doesn't collect anything, he don't make anything," Hargis said. "It seems to work well for them, from what I understand."

Thompson said he couldn't understand why offenders are allowed to leave the county's justice center without making arrangements to pay their fines.

"They just walk out and you never see them again," he said.

The board can't control what happens in the courtroom, Hargis said, but it can find a way to collect some of the unpaid money.

He estimates that 50 to 60 percent of people fined in Marion County Circuit Court "never make the first payment."

"We need somebody to try to aggressively go after some of this fine money," Hargis said. "If you can collect one or two percent of it, that's a lot of money. We're not talking about killing people [financially]. Some people pay $10 a month, but at least they're making an effort."

Ryan Lewis is based in Marion County. Contact him at ryanlewis34 @gmail.com.

Upcoming Events