Participation was down for Vicksburg’s annual amnesty period for paying overdue court fines, court officials said.

According to court records, 62 people participated in the 2018 version of the program, which ran from Feb. 1 through April 9.

The participation accounted for $38,228.58 in past due fines paid to the city. During the 2017 amnesty period, 181 people took advantage to pay back fines totaling $85,133.35.

In 2015, the amnesty period netted the city $64,412.85 in back fines, about $2,656 more than collected in 2014, when the Vicksburg Municipal Court collected $61,756.41 in back fines from people who took advantage of the amnesty period.

“I think the difference between this year and last year is that the (income) tax refunds were late coming in,” said Municipal Court administrator Janice Carter. “A lot of people wait until they get their income tax refunds before they come in and pay their fines. I’ve been hearing that a lot. We’ve had people call in and ask for an extension because they haven’t gotten their refund yet.”

The city court’s amnesty period was established to allow people with past due fines to pay them and avoid being served with a warrant and have to post a bond in addition to the fine.