Vicksburg collected $57,112 from 77 people during a four-month fine amnesty period, Municipal Court Judge Nancy Thomas said. In exchange, the debtors had arrest warrants suspended.

“I think it was successful for the first time,” Thomas said. “It was very beneficial for the city and for the people who chose to utilize this program, so they could avoid being arrested.”

The Vicksburg Board of Mayor and Aldermen signed off on the program in November after Thomas told them an estimated 7,000 people have outstanding fines totalling about $3 million. Some of the unpaid tickets and fines are 20 years old.

The unpaid fines trigger contempt of court arrest warrants  — which are logged into computers and activated if the debtors have contact with police. Detention follows along with additional fines and penalties. Warrants were shelved for those who went to the court clerk, paid up or agreed to a payment plan or schedule for community service.

“It saves us manpower and time and effort because we don’t have to deal with additional arrests or extra prisoners,” Thomas said. “And offering the amnesty period didn’t require any additional staff for us or anything like that. I would recommend it again.”

Thomas, formerly city attorney, said the majority of the fines collected were for traffic tickets and misdemeanors such as shoplifting.

“Some of them completely paid off what they owed, some came in with down payments and some decided to do community service,” Thomas said.

Warren County supervisors, facing a similar dilemma with unpaid justice court fines also amounting to nearly $3 million, discussed in late March how to step up collections. While no decision was made, supervisors are considering stepping up arrests of offenders to encourage them to pay up or at least sign up for payment plans or perform community service.

The discussion followed a February 2009 decision by supervisors to hire a Natchez firm to work on a percentage basis in collecting fines and some past-due garbage fees. That effort netted only a fraction of the unpaid fines and the board hinted the company won’t be handling any additional court fine accounts. Previous city administrations had also tried to collect fines through an agency, a method Thomas has said was not successful.

Contact Steve Sanoski at ssanoski@vicksburgpost.com