Kansas City considers boosting municipal court ticket costs

People with Kansas City municipal court violations would pay as much as $7 more per ticket in court costs under a measure the City Council will consider Thursday.

The additional money would help pay for municipal court building improvements and operations at Kansas City’s four domestic violence shelters.

“The change is positive,” Councilman Scott Taylor said Wednesday as the council’s public safety committee endorsed the increase. “This will make a big difference.”

Taylor was especially supportive of an increase that would provide about $75,000 more to the $200,000 that the domestic violence shelters currently get per year from court costs. The increase would also provide about $400,000 annually for upgrades to the municipal court.

The court cost increase was authorized by the Missouri General Assembly in its last session and extends until Aug. 28, 2021. Until then, it allows the municipal court to increase court costs for moving and general ordinance violations by $5 for building maintenance and $2 for domestic violence shelters. That would increase total court costs for those types of violations from $41.50 to $48.50.

For non-moving violations, costs can go up by $2 for building maintenance and $1 for domestic violence shelters. Those court costs would increase from $19.50 to $22.50 per violation.

Municipal Judge Anne LaBella assured the committee that the court is sympathetic to indigent people who may not be able to pay the increase.

“If there is concern about the court costs being too burdensome for some, the judges do understand that,” she said, adding that people can do community service or get the court costs waived if necessary.

This story was originally published September 24, 2014 at 12:35 PM with the headline "Kansas City considers boosting municipal court ticket costs."