Official: Higher court fees will impact most county residents

Newly hiked fees at the Franklin County District Court will impact almost everyone in the county, John Steelman says.

Steelman, court administrator for the Franklin County District Court, said any Franklin County citizen who files a case with the district court will be impacted by the court’s increase in fees.

Traffic tickets, divorces and fish and game violations all will cost more for Franklin County residents.

A $10 increase, or surcharge, in most fees imposed by the state’s court system took effect Wednesday — an effort by the Kansas Supreme Court to combat a $15.9 million cut the state court system recieved for 2010. The surcharge fee will be in effect through June 2010, and Steelman said it is expected to raise about $5 million over the next year.

“The surcharge will be used to restore some of the shortfall created by the budget cuts,” Steelman said.

Steelman said the Franklin County District court has made changes to its staff and operation in order to help combat the struggling economy. In addition, the court continues to operate with a 4 percent reduction in staff, stemming from cuts several years ago, Steelman said.

Steelman added that clerks at the District Court offices have closed to the public at 4 p.m. in order to catch up with paperwork and make preparations for the next day.

These surcharges impact 31 judicial districts and 105 counties in Kansas, Steelman said.

If the surcharges don’t make up for some of the system’s deficit, Steelman said the court might consider closing down for periods of time.

“As a court administrator, I am also very concerned about court staff’s ability to keep up with their workloads if the court is closed for a period of days,” he said. “I am still amazed at the number of court documents that must be processed and scanned every day by the dedicated staff.”

If this were to happen, Steelman said Franklin County citizens would be further impacted — especially neglected or abused children who require immediate action.

“Even more of a concern are those citizens who seek the court’s protection from abuse and stalking,” Steelman said. “Closing Franklin County District Court for weeks at a time is obviously unprecedented and, frankly, no one has many answers on how we will meet our statutory obligations and administer justice to citizens of Franklin County before, during and after the closings.”

New fees