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Coffee County approves $12.50 court fee for convictions to fund district attorney's office, effective July 1
Summary
Commissioners voted to adopt the state‑authorized $12.50 court cost on convictions to support the district attorney's office; the commission amended the effective date to July 1 to allow local offices time to implement collection procedures.
The Coffee County Commission voted to assess a $12.50 court cost on criminal convictions to provide additional funding for the district attorney's office, adopting the measure and setting the effective date as July 1.
District Attorney Craig Northcott told commissioners the state legislature recently authorized the fee and that his office faces diminished alternative funding sources that previously supported prosecutions and related public‑safety work. "This is simply a $12.50 fee on every misdemeanor and felony, committed as paid by the defendant," Northcott said, adding that the fee applies only on convictions and carries no direct cost to the county.
Northcott said the fee would help the office prepare for population and caseload growth and avoid seeking county general‑fund support in the near term. He estimated, based on comparable collections for similar fees in the public defender's office, that annual revenue might be roughly $30,000, but said the amount depends on waivers for indigent defendants and other court practices.
Court clerk Jenny Anthony told commissioners she had spoken with the Administrative Office of the Courts about setting up collection in local systems and requested time to implement the necessary software changes. Commissioner Miller offered an amendment to make the effective date July 1 to give the clerk time to modify systems; the commission approved that amendment before adopting the main motion.
The measure was moved by Commissioner DeFord and seconded by Commissioner Benton Brown. After the amendment setting the effective date to July 1 passed, the commission approved the full motion by the required two‑thirds majority; the meeting record shows the final vote as 18 affirmative votes.
County officials said collected fees will be processed through the trustee's office and remain in the county. The district attorney and clerk indicated they would coordinate on implementation details and that some administrative work remains to operationalize collection before the July 1 effective date.
