Committee approves ordinance to raise county worthless‑check fee from $20 to $35

An ordinance to amend Adams County Code Chapter 40 (service charge for worthless checks) passed the Administrative & Finance Committee on a voice vote.

A presenter explained the ordinance's sole substantive change is raising the fee from $20 to $35; the ordinance language otherwise remains the same. The presenter said the fee had not been adjusted since 2009 and walked through collection steps: when a check is returned NSF, the treasurer notifies the department, the department attempts collection and the finance office reverses the deposit entry if needed. Some member questions focused on how often the fee is successfully recovered; staff said the fee is commonly tacked onto tax or solid‑waste bills, and recovery is "fairly successful" in practice.

Committee members compared other local rates; staff noted one neighboring county charges $35 and a town (Newchester) recently increased fees to $50. After discussion, a committee member moved to approve the increase and the committee approved the ordinance by voice vote.

Outcome: the ordinance passed the committee and will move on to the county board for further consideration.