City of Bonne Terre, MO Article III Fines and Court Costs

Section 125.300 Installment Payment of Fine.

When a fine is assessed for violation of an ordinance, it shall be within the discretion of the Judge assessing the fine to provide for the payment of the fine on an installment basis under such terms and conditions as he/she may deem appropriate.

Section 125.310 Court Costs.

[CC 2001 §2.64.280(c,d); Ord. No. 7.13 §1(c,d), 5-18-1993; Ord. No. 201101 §§1 — 3, 9-12-2011; Ord. No. 201501, 2-9-2015; Ord. No. 202018, 9-14-2020]

A. In addition to any fine that may be imposed by the Municipal Judge in any case filed in the Bonne Terre Municipal Division of the 24th Judicial Circuit Court, and in addition to all other fees authorized or required by law, there shall be assessed as costs the following:

1. Costs of Court in the amount of eleven dollars ($11.00).

2. Police Officer Training Fee. A fee of three dollars ($3.00) is hereby established and assessed as additional Court costs in each Court proceeding, except that no such fee shall be collected when the proceedings against the defendant have been dismissed.

a. Two dollars ($2.00) of each such Court cost shall be transmitted monthly to the Treasurer of the City and used to pay for Police Officer training as provided by Sections 590.100 to 590.180, RSMo. The City shall not retain for training purposes more than one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500.00) of such funds for each certified Law Enforcement Officer or candidate for certification employed by the City. Any excess funds shall be transmitted quarterly to the City's General Fund.

b. One dollar ($1.00) of each such Court cost shall be sent to the State Treasury to the credit of the Peace Officers Standards and Training Commission Fund created by Section 590.178, RSMo.

3. Crime Victims' Compensation Fund. An additional sum of seven dollars fifty cents ($7.50) shall be assessed and added to the basic costs in Subsection (A)(1) of this Section, provided that no such cost shall be collected in any proceeding when the proceeding or the defendant has been dismissed by the Court. All sums collected pursuant to this Subsection shall be paid at least monthly as follows:

a. Ninety-five percent (95%) of such fees shall be paid to the Director of Revenue of the State of Missouri for deposit as provided in Section 595.045.5, RSMo.

b. Five percent (5%) shall be paid to the City Treasury.

4. There shall also be assessed a two dollar ($2.00) cost per case for each criminal case, including violations of any County or municipal ordinance, for the purpose of providing operating expenses for shelters for battered persons as set out in Section 488.607, RSMo.

5. There shall be assessed a seven dollar ($7.00) surcharge for the Statewide Court Automation Fund.

6. Other costs, such as for the issuance of a warrant, a commitment or a summons, as provided before the Associate Circuit Judge in criminal prosecutions.

7. Actual costs assessed against the City by the County Sheriff for apprehension or confinement in the County Jail or costs assessed against the City by any other detention facility.

8. Mileage, in the same amount as provided to the Sheriff in criminal violations, for each mile and fraction thereof the officer must travel (both directions) in order to serve any warrant or commitment or order of this Court.

9. Any other reasonable cost as may be otherwise provided by ordinance, including, but not limited to, costs of confinement, including any necessary transportation related thereto, medical costs incurred by the City while a defendant is in City custody, and costs related to the arrest and testing of any person for any intoxication-related traffic offense as set out in Section 125.310(A)(10) hereof.

10. Reimbursement Of Certain Costs Of Arrest.

a. Upon a plea or a finding of guilty of violating the provisions of Sections 342.020 or 342.030 of this Code or any ordinance of the City of Bonne Terre involving alcohol- or drug-related traffic offenses, the Court may, in addition to imposition of any penalties provided by law, order the convicted person to reimburse the Police Department for the costs associated with such arrest.

b. Such costs hereby authorized shall include the reasonable cost of making the arrest, including the cost of any chemical test made as authorized or required by law or ordinance to determine the alcohol or drug content of the person's blood, and the costs of processing, charging, booking and holding such person in custody.

c. The Chief of Police may establish a schedule of such costs hereby authorized and shall submit the same to the Municipal Judge. However, the Court may order the costs reduced if it determines that the costs are excessive.

d. The fees shall be collected as additional costs by Municipal Court and shall be collected by the Court in the same manner as other costs and fees are collected and remitted to the City Treasurer.

e. The City Treasurer shall retain these fees in a separate fund known as the "DWI/Drug Enforcement Fund." Monies within this fund shall be appropriated by the City Council to law enforcement authorities from such fund in amounts equal to those costs so incurred and shall be specifically used to enhance and support the enforcement and prosecution of alcohol- and drug-related traffic laws within the City.

11. Surcharge For All Allowable Criminal And Traffic Cases.

a. The City Council of the City of Bonne Terre, Missouri, hereby adopts this Subsection authorizing the surcharge of two dollars ($2.00) permitted under Section 488.5026, RSMo., to be placed on appropriate criminal and traffic cases processed in the Municipal Court of the City of Bonne Terre, Missouri. Funds collected shall be deposited into an account established as the "St. Francois County Inmate Security Fund."

b. The City Council of Bonne Terre, Missouri, hereby directs the Court Administrator for the Municipal Court of the City of Bonne Teffe to assess and collect such surcharge as authorized by State law and this Subsection, to pay over the amount collected in the "St. Francois County Inmate Security Fund" to the St. Francois County Treasurer for deposit into said fund on a regular basis.

c. The funds deposited into the Inmate Security Fund shall only be used in compliance with the applicable law related to the surcharges authorized in Section 488.5026, RSMo., as enacted and/or amended from time to time.

12. Judicial Education Fund. The City hereby imposes a one dollar ($1.00) Court cost to be retained in a Judicial Education Fund and to be used as set out in Section 479.260, RSMo.

13. (Reserved)[1]

[1] Editor's Note: Former Subsection (A)(13), regarding Sheriffs Retirement Fund Surcharge, was repealed 8-9-2021 by Ord. No. 202121.

Section 125.320 Court Costs — Assess Against Prosecuting Witness.

[CC 2001 §2.64.260; Ord. No. 7.00 §II(Z), 12-12-1978]

The costs of any action may be assessed against the prosecuting witness and judgment be rendered against him/her that he/she pay the same and stand committed until paid in any case where it appears to the satisfaction of the Municipal Judge that the prosecution was commenced without probable cause and from malicious motives.

Section 125.330 Non-Payment of Fines.

[CC 2001 §2.64.300; Ord. No. 7.00-1 §§1 — 4, 5-10-1983]

A. When an offender sentenced to pay a fine by the Bonne Terre Municipal Court defaults in the payment of the fine or any installment thereof, the Court upon motion of the City Prosecutor or upon its own motion may require him/her to show cause why he/she should not be imprisoned for non-payment. The Court may issue a warrant of arrest or a summons for his/her appearance.

B. Following an order to show cause under Subsection (A) of this Section, unless the offender shows that his/her default was not attributable to an intentional refusal to obey the sentence of the Court or not attributable to a failure on his/her part to make a good faith effort to obtain the necessary funds for payment, the Court may order the defendant imprisoned for a term not to exceed thirty (30) days. The Court may provide in its order that payment or satisfaction of the fine at any time will entitle the offender to his/her release from such imprisonment or after entering the order may at any time reduce the sentence for good cause shown, including payment or satisfaction of the fine.

C. If it appears that the default in the payment of a fine is excusable under the standards set forth in Subsection (B) of this Section, the Court may enter an order allowing the offender additional time for payment, reducing the amount of the fine or of each installment or revoking the fine or the unpaid portion in whole or in part.

D. When a fine is imposed on a corporation, it is the duty of the person or persons authorized to make disbursement of the assets of the corporation and their superiors to pay the fine from the assets of the corporation. The failure of such persons to do so shall render them subject to imprisonment under Subsections (A) and (B) of this Section.