New software will track city fines
City of Willamina finds affordable program to track municipal citations
By Marguerite Alexander
Correspondent, The Sun
It may soon become harder to get away without paying fines after appearing in the Willamina Municipal Court thanks to new software that will track fines and payments for the city.
Although the city operates a municipal court, it does not have a database that allows it to track citations and payments or develop reports, City Recorder Sue Hollis explained to the city council earlier this month. Most court software is cost prohibitive for small communities, ranging from $20,000 to $30,000.
Last fall, temporary employee Danelle Hiebenthal started an Excel spreadsheet to track citations issued since 2008. The spreadsheet was valuable for putting all the information in one spot, but it has had limitations. It does not have the capacity to provide reports according to citation, Hollis said. Additionally, it does not provide a way to automatically disburse the payments which are divided between the city, county and state.
“Because we do not have an accurate accounting of these citations, there is also no way at present to determine the total amounts actually owed to the city for these citations,” Hollis pointed out. “Because we cannot effectively track the citations and the payments, we also have no way at present to determine if we have paid the assessments due on the ones that have been paid.
With the need to track only traffic and municipal code violations—not criminal cases—the city has been looking for a program that is less sophisticated that will meet the needs of the city at a more affordable price. Court Clerk Debra Bernard has made inquiries at meetings she has attended along with other municipal court clerks.
Some small cities—including the City of Yamhill—are using a program called Municipal and Justice Courts Information Computing. The cost: $3,603 for the first year and approximately $1,600 in subsequent years. The finance committee recommended the request to purchase this software.
Court software was not included in this year’s budget. “Although this need was not foreseen in the budget process, the lack of a computerized system to deal with Court activities is rapidly becoming more of a problem,” Hollis said.
The city recorder told the council that there are sufficient funds in the General Fund for the purchase now, and by the end of the fiscal year there should be enough savings in other areas to cover the cost. Additionally the ability to track fines will give the city the ability to collect on outstanding fines. Once it is up and running the software “will pay for itself,” Hollis told the council.
“Waiting an additional year for a new budget cycle will only put us further and further behind,” the city recorder added. The council approved the purchase at the Aug. 12 meeting.
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