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Home My WebLink AboutIR 9716 Revised INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 9716 Revised To the Mayor and Members of the City Council March 24, 2015 3' Y Page 1 of 5 *a rrn SUBJECT: MUNICIPAL COURT COLLECTIONS AND DISTRIBUTION OF REVENUES The purpose of this Informal Report is to respond to the City Council request to provide information related to the Municipal Courts collectibles on adjudicated cases and the distribution of revenues to local and state accounts. A case is deemed collectible after it has been adjudicated, which means a judgment of guilty has been rendered. Satisfaction of the judgment can be realized through payment and non-payment remedies. Non-payment remedies would include methods such as community service, credit-for-time served, compliance through community court, a finding of indigence, etc. Should satisfaction of the judgment not be met, the Court attempts to enforce compliance by issuing a warrant and/or referring the case to external collections, as authorized by state law. Collectibles & External Collections Activity The following charts include court related information as requested. The first chart illustrates that the Municipal Courts current total active open caseload for criminal violations is approximately 956K cases with a remaining 547K cases that are non-adjudicated. The judgment rendered column reflects adjudicated cases only, which is a portion of the open active cases. The remaining balance column is only for adjudicated cases. Collectibles - Adjudicated Active Criminal Cases TOTAL JUDGMENT FY OPEN RENDERED REMAINING CAS (ADJUDICATED) BALANCE 2005 and Prior 160,176 81,405 $23,338,453 2006 18,054 13,533 $4,432,011 2007 70,546 38,016 $13,253,450 2008 100,361 51,564 $18,459,678 2009 102,681 53,002 $19,773,543 2010 109,553 49,053 $18,965,380 2011 93,440 43,847 $17,264,463 2012 82,289 32,499 $12,744,630 2013 80,354 22,596 $8,618,235 2014 94,555 19,941 $6,733,138 2015 44,043 3,239 $875,600 Totals 956,052 408,695 $144,458,580 Data as of 2/16/2015 ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 9716 Revised To the Mayor and Members of the City Council March 24, 2015 3- Y Page 2 of 5 *a rrn SUBJECT: MUNICIPAL COURT COLLECTIONS AND DISTRIBUTION OF REVENUES The chart below illustrates a current total active caseload for parking violations of approximately 275K cases. A parking case becomes adjudicated either by default on the 21St day of no activity or a finding of liable by the hearing officer. Satisfaction of a finding of liable can only be remedied through payment. Parking CASES LIABLE REMAINING FINDING BALANCE 2005 and Prior 67,974 67,974 $3,244,376 2006 22,805 22,805 $1,266,295 2007 24,030 24,030 $1,336,693 2008 23,221 23,221 $1,260,274 2009 23,766 23,766 $1,291,746 2010 23,701 23,701 $1,739,459 2011 20,421 20,421 $1,752,483 2012 17,872 17,872 $1,564,045 2013 22,365 22,365 $1,812,687 2014 19,602 19,602 $1,612,063 62015 9475 5,913 $440,050 275,232 271,670 $17,320,172 Data as of 2/18/2015 The total collectible amount for adjudicated active criminal and parking cases is approximately $161.8M. Please note that the remaining balance and potential value amounts will include the collection agency fee surcharge of 30% that is added to any delinquent case at the time of referral to the external collections agency. This surcharge is remitted directly to Linebarger Goggan Blair and Sampson, LLP and not retained by the City. External Collections Activity The information below shows activity related to the Court's external collections (as of February 16, 2015) program. Charts 1 and 2 include data on criminal and parking cases that have been adjudicated. Chart 3 includes data on non-adjudicated criminal cases that have been referred to external collections. The balances include all fines and fees potentially due. The amount dismissed is a result of the reduction of fees associated with special programs designed to encourage compliance. Adjudicated criminal cases are referred to Linebarger on the 121St day of noncompliance. Parking cases are referred to Linebarger on the ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 9716 Revised �IR3E1to To the Mayor and Members of the City Council March 24, 2015 r i Page 3 of 5 SUBJECT: MUNICIPAL COURT COLLECTIONS AND DISTRIBUTION OF REVENUES 61st day of delinquency. At a minimum non-adjudicated cases are also referred to Linebarger on the 121st day of delinquency. Chart 1: Adiudicated Criminal FY CASES AMOUNT AMOUNT AMOUNT REMAINING OWED COLLECTED DISMISSED BALANCE 2005 and Prior 31,632 $11,905,197 $1,325,624 $147,556 $10,432,017 2006 9,576 $3,813,633 $402,443 $50,234 $3,360,956 2007 30,100 $12,103,899 $883,539 $171,066 $11,049,294 2008 43,507 $17,815,022 $1,313,597 $395,915 $16,105,510 2009 46,156 $19,395,717 $1,265,142 $371,368 $17,759,207 2010 44,293 $18,726,915 $1,112,592 $176,880 $17,437,443 2011 40,010 $17,155,507 $930,629 $179,435 $16,045,444 2012 28,574 $12,242,199 $632,314 $139,640 $11,470,244 2013 19,059 $8,103,515 $420,361 $103,421 $7,579,733 2014 11,127 $4,569,724 $155,713 $41,308 $4,372,703 2015 127 $48,351 $833 $153 $47,365 Totals 304,161 $125,879,679 $8,442,786 $1,776,976 $115,659,917 ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 9716 Revised �IR3E1to To the Mayor and Members of the City Council March 24, 2015 r i Page 4 of 5 SUBJECT: MUNICIPAL COURT COLLECTIONS AND DISTRIBUTION OF REVENUES Chart 2: Parking FY CASES AMOUNT AMOUNT AMOUNT REMAINING OWED COLLECTED DISMISSED BALANCE 2005 and Prior 67,851 $3,241,504 $2,274 $323 $3,238,908 2006 22,843 $1,340,035 $8,391 $67,623 $1,264,022 2007 24,287 $1,456,121 $19,876 $102,053 $1,334,192 2008 23,458 $1,368,083 $21,623 $88,091 $1,258,368 2009 23,743 $1,309,460 $14,083 $6,029 $1,289,347 2010 23,652 $1,764,216 $24,546 $3,607 $1,736,063 2011 20,360 $1,772,020 $21,365 $2,161 $1,748,494 2012 14,953 $1,321,872 $15,433 $2,896 $1,303,544 2013 22,242 $1,833,838 $24,582 $5,405 $1,803,851 2014 19,336 $1,617,635 $20,352 $3,919 $1,593,364 2015 4.745 $397.754 $6.561 $1.122 $390.071 Totals 267,470 $17,422,537 $179,085 $283,229 $16,960,223 Note: The large dismissal amount during the 06-08 time period was due to mass recall of parking cases referred to collections. The referral added a 30%surcharge to the amount owed and was dismissed at the time of recall. Chart 3: Non-Adiudicated Criminal FY CASES POTENTIAL VALUE 2005 and Prior 2,481 $0-$832,533 2006 1,058 $0-$361,828 2007 25,907 $0-$8,464,305 2008 37,379 $0-$12,561,015 2009 36,221 $0-$12,569,134 2010 41,482 $0-$14,328,044 2011 40,856 $0-$14,588,406 2012 39,895 $0-$14,095,952 2013 45,637 $0-$16,059,106 2014 50,762 $0-$18,137,871 2015 4,713 $0-$1,672,261 Totals 326,391 $0-$113,670,454 ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 9716 Revised J.-IR3E•to To the Mayor and Members of the City Council March 24, 2015 r i Page 5 of 5 SUBJECT: MUNICIPAL COURT COLLECTIONS AND DISTRIBUTION OF REVENUES Collectibles versus Receivables This informal report references the term "collectible" versus using the term "receivable". The amounts shown as collectibles are not recorded as receivables on the general ledger, even after the cases are adjudicated. This practice is consistent with governmentally accepted accounting principles. The Municipal Courts role is to process cases and enforce judgments. The court encourages voluntary compliance. When that is not achieved it utilizes tools such as, issuing a warrant, the State authorized collections process, referral to external collections, and participating in the Statewide Warrant Program. We continue to identify new methods to encourage compliance. Distribution of Revenues Function and Distribution of Municipal Court Revenues • A requirement of Municipal Courts is the collection and proper disbursements of fines upon conviction. • The total fine amount is the sum of the local fine, court costs, and in some cases additional fees authorized by state law. • The local fine is set by the court of jurisdiction and retained locally. In some instances state law requires that some portion of the local fine be sent to other agencies and/or the state. • Court Costs are a combination of state and locally retained amounts authorized under state law and in some instances city ordinance. The chart below illustrates how the disbursement rules are applied for a sample of common violations. The violations listed below should not be considered as an all-inclusive list of the City of Fort Worth violations: LOCAL COURT COURT TOTAL VIOLATION FINE COST- COST - FWISD FINE STATE LOCAL Stop Sign $ 117.90 $ 75.40 $ 26.70 $ 220.00 Maintain Substandard Structure $ 500.00 $ 47.80 $ 16.20 $ 564.00 Theft Under$50 $ 500.00 $ 47.80 $ 21.20 $ 569.00 Parent Contributing $ 250.00 $ 47.80 $ 36.20 $ 250.00 $ 584.00 Seatbelt* $ 25.00 1 $ 100.30 1 $ 26.70 $ 152.00 Note: The above fine chart is based on the posted fine schedule of the court and state authorized costs. *Local fine for seatbelt is$50.00 however 50%($25.00)is remitted to the state and has been assigned to the state court cost column. David Cooke City Manager ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS