County leads state in collecting fines

Wahkiakum County has the highest per capita fine collection rate of any superior court in the state, according to a recent study by the Washington State Association of County Officials.

According to a news release from Wahkiakum County Superior Court Clerk Kay Holland, on average, each person who owed criminal legal-financial obligations to Wahkiakum County Superior Court paid $395.10 towards them in 2011.

The next highest amount collected per case was $333.70 by San Juan County, and the only other counties that collected more on average than $200 were Asotin, Benton, and Garfield.

“Looking at the list, it’s clear that smaller counties have advantages that bigger counties don’t,” Holland said in the release, noting that King and Pierce Counties collect at the lowest rate per capita.

Since 2003, the law has tasked county clerks like her with primary responsibility for the collection of legal-financial obligations (LFOs) – a blanket term for fines, court costs, public defender fees, crime lab fees, restitution to victims, court-ordered victim assessments, and anything else a court might order a convicted defendant to pay for as part of his or her sentence.

Since taking office in 2009, Holland made a series of changes in her collection system to increase collections. She spearheaded a financial responsibility docket – a monthly court date when the court brings in people who owe LFOs to the court and either have failed to pay in the past or are at risk of failure to pay.

“The judge looks into their ability to pay, adjusts their payments, inquires into their ability to work, and, if they are unemployed, keeps track of their job searches to keep them on task,” Holland says. “If they can’t pay, we set them up with community service opportunities that get them credit towards the interest on their fines.”

Wahkiakum County Prosecutor Dan Bigelow prosecutes the hardest cases – people who have the ability to pay their fines but refuse to do so – for violating the conditions of their sentences.

“It’s important to have the stick, but it’s gratifying how well so many defendants respond to the carrot,” said county Prosecuting Attorney Dan Bigelow. “Some of them walk into their first docket unemployed and discouraged, and in a few months they walk out employed, in the habit of paying their fines on schedule, and happy to be able to take care of their own business as responsible adults. All they needed was a little attention and encouragement.

“A program like Kay Holland’s may not be right for every county. It requires courtrooms and personnel, and both of those are scarce in big counties. But it’s an important tool for us.”

The report is accessible on the internet at

http://www.wacounties.org/waco/Leg/2011%20LFO%20Report.pdf.