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Alpharetta court staff outline tax-refund intercept program (TRIP) as a new tool to collect unpaid fines
Summary
City court staff described the Administrative Office of the Courts' Tax Refund Intercept Program (TRIP) and said staff will return with an MOU for council action; council members asked clarifying questions about eligibility and practical limitations.
City court staff briefed Alpharetta council on April 14 about the Tax Refund Intercept Program (TRIP), a state-administered process that lets courts submit unpaid fines for collection through the Georgia Department of Revenue’s interception of state income tax refunds.
Court presenter Miss Lappin explained the basics: after an MOU with the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC), the court can submit qualifying unpaid fines to the AOC for inclusion in the Department of Revenue intercept process. “The Department of Revenue is intercepting their state tax refund for state tax refund,” Lappin said while describing the mechanism. She noted minimum eligibility requirements: at least $25 due and a disposition date within seven years.
Why it matters: the program gives the court an additional, automated means to collect outstanding fines and fees that currently sit unpaid. Lappin told council the municipal court has 18 qualifying cases from the last year with roughly $7,000 in outstanding fines that could be submitted under TRIP.
Council questions and staff responses - Councilman Dorito asked whether intercepted funds are the state refund; Lappin confirmed the state Department of Revenue intercepts refunds and remits monies back to submitting jurisdictions after a processing fee, which the AOC charges ($25 per case under the AOC program). - Council members asked what happens if a defendant does not file a return or has no refund; Lappin said there is no recourse in those cases and the intercept only collects when a refund exists. - A judge in the room said other Georgia cities (Woodstock, Griffin and coastal counties) use the program and had been “pleased with it.”
Next steps and outcome Staff said they will return with a proposed MOU for council action; no ordinance or contract was signed at the meeting. City administration indicated that if council wants to add TRIP to its “toolbox,” staff would bring a formal MOU back for a future vote.
Provisions and limits described by staff - Eligibility: minimum $25 due; disposition date within seven years of submission to the AOC. - Fees: AOC charges a processing fee per intercept; the fee is deducted before distributions to jurisdictions. - Limitations: interceptions only recover refunds; defendants who do not file returns or have no refunds cannot be collected through the program.
No formal vote was taken on April 14; council gave staff direction to proceed with drafting an MOU for future formal action.
