HomeMy WebLinkAboutPR 11740: MUNICIPAL COURT FINESCity of Port Arthur
Memorandum
ro~
From:
Date:
Re:
Mayor and City C.,9rufl~. cil
Steve Fitzgibborf~,~ity Manager
April 11, 2002
PR 11740
Recommendation
I recommend that the City Council adopt Proposed Resolution 11740 which authorizes an
agreement for the services of Gayle W. Botley & Associates to review municipal court fine
revenue to include number of citations issued, disposition of citations and the receipt and reporting
of fmc revenue and bonds.
Background
As of February 28, 2002, court fine revenue has declined 39% over last years' levels. I feel that it
would be beneficial to have a review of our process by an outside auditor to try to determine why
revenues have declined so drastically. The firm Gayle W. Botley & Associates is the current audit
firm of the City. I am asking that they be engaged for this special study at a cost not to exceed
$5,000.
P.R. 11740
4/11/02 JJA
RESOLUTION NO.
A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING AN AGREEMENT
WITH GAYLE W. BOTLEY & ASSOCIATES FOR A
REVIEW OF THE RECEIPT OF MUNICIPAL
COURT FINES
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PORT ARTHUR:
THAT the City Manager of the City of Port Arthur is hereby authorized and directed to
execute on behalf of the City of Port Arthur an agreement between the City and Gayle W. Botley
& Associates for a review of the receipt of municipal court fines as described in Exhibit "A"; and
THAT by signature of this resolution, the parties agree to the procedures as outlined in
"Exhibit "A"; and,
THAT Gayle W. Botley & Associates, in obtaining this budgetary information, will
comply with Section 720.002 Transportation Code, a copy of which is attached as Exhibit "B".
THAT a copy of the caption of this resolution be spread upon the Minutes of the City
Council.
READ, ADOPTED, AND APPROVED, this day of April, 2002, A.D., at a
Regular Meeting of the City Council of the City of Port Arthur, Texas by the following vote:
AYES: Mayor:
Councilmembers:
NOES:
ATTEST:
Mayor
Jan Stroder, Acting City Secretary
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
Mark Sokolow, City Attorney
APPROVED:
Stephen Fitzgibbons, City Manager
Gayle W. Botley and Associates, CPAs
_~PROVED AS TO AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS:
Rebecca Underhill, Finance Director
84/11/2882 11:38 489-962-8668 GAYLE W BOTLEY PAGE 82
Gayle W. Botley Associates
O_.ert~ Pub~ .~z, mw~u Me~ber of AlOPg~
ERHIBIT A
April 11, 2002
CRy ofPonArthur
RebeccaUnder~ll, DkectorofFinance
P.O. Box 1089
Port Arthur, TX?7641-1069
SUBJECT: REVIEW OF T~F, RECEIPT OF MUNICIPAL COURT FINES
Dear Ms. Underhill:
I am pleased to issue this preliminsry estimate of $3,200.00 based on your correspondence we
r~c~ived on April 10, 2002 and our phone conversation today. This engagement would be
considered an agreed-upon procedures engagement with a list of procedures attached.
Our estimate is based on the limit~ information pertaining to the citations provided to us
represeming October, 2001 Through December, 2001. We understand the period of the
engsfiemcm begins October 1,2001 and ends M~rch 31, 2002.
Sincerely
&ayle W. Botley & Assocm~'iit~t~
OSCfR G. ORTIZ, MAYOR
FELIX A. BARKER, MAYOR PRO-TEM
COUNCIL MEMBERS:
CRAIG HANNAH
THOMAS J. HENDERSON
TOM GILLAM, III
REV. RONNIE LINDEN
BOB BOWERS
ROSE MITCHELL CHAISSON
ROBERT E. ALLEN
City of
STEPHEN FITZGIBBONS
CITY MANAGER
JAN STRODER
ACTING CITY SECRETARY
MARK T. SOKOLOW
CITY ATTORNEY
April 10, 2002
Gayle Botley, CPA
4749 Twin City Highway, Suite 280
Port Arthur, Texas 77642
Dear Mr. Botley:
The City Manager is interested in engaging your finn to review City operations that impact the
receipt of court frees. This review should include an evaluation of the number of citations issued,
the disposition of the citations, and the receipt and reporting of fine revenues and bonds.
It is not our belief that court fines should be viewed solely as a revenue source for the city,
however, the City is concerned, as revenue from court fines has declined significantly over the
last several months and is considerably behind last year's pace. Last year's revenue was not out
of line and represented less than lA of the court revenue that the City of Beaumont received even
though our population is more than ½ of Beaumont's. Based upon the decline experienced thus
far, we will lag even further behind Beaumont this fiscal year.
As you know any contract between your firm and the city would need Council approval. We look
forward to working with you again.
Sincerely,
Director of Finance
RO. BOX 1089 · PORTARTHUR, TEXAS 77641-1089 · 409/983-Bl15 · FAX 409/983-8291
EXHIBIT B
§ 720.002 TRANSPORTATION CODE
Title 7
§ 720.002. Prohibition on Traffic-Offense Quotas
(a) A political subdivision or an agency of this state may not establish or
maintain, formally or informally, a plan to evaluate, promote, compensate, or
discipline:
(1) a peace off!cer according to the officer's issuance of a predetermined or
specified number of any type or combination of types of traffic citations; or
(2) a justice of the peace or a judge of a county court, statutory county
court, municipal court, or municipal court of record according to the amount
of money the justicc or judge collects from persons convicted of a traffic
offense.
(b) A political subdivision or an agency of this state may not require or
suggest to a peace officer, a justice of the peace, or a judge of a county court,
statutory county court, municipal court, or municipal court of record:
(l) that the peace officer is required or expected to issue a predetermined
or specified number of any type or combination of types of traffic citations
within a specified period; or
(2) that the justice or judge is required or expected tO collect a predeter-
mined amount of money from persons convicted of a traffic offense within a
specified period.
(c) Subsection (a) does not prohibit a municipality from considering the
source and amount of money collected from a municipal court or a municipal
court of record when evaluating the performance of a judge employed by the
municipality.
(d) This section does not prohibit a municipality from obtaining budgetary
information from a municipal court or a municipal court of record, including
an estimate of the amount of money the court anticipates will be collected in a
budget year.
(e) A violation of this section by an elected official is misconduct and a
ground for removal from office. A violation of this section by a person who is
not an elected official is a ground for removal from the person's position.
(f) In this section:
(1) "Conviction" means the rendition of an order by a court imposing a
punishment of incarceration or a fine.
(2) "Traffic offense" means an offense under:
(A) Chapter 521; or
(B) Subtitle C)
Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 165, § 1, eft. Sept. 1, 1995.
1 V.T.C.A. Transportation Code § 541.001 et seq.
Revisor's Note
(1) Subsection (a), V.A.C.S. Article 6701d-25, refers to a "system, program,
or plan." The references to "system" and "program" are omitted from the
revised law because "system" and "program" are included within the meaning
of "plan."
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