Leader Staff
Fines and forfeitures in the city of Shawano will go up across the board starting Wednesday due to an increase in municipal court fees.
The court fee, which is included in the total cost of fines and other penalties assessed by the city, will go from $28 to $38.
The Shawano Common Council approved amending the city’s bond schedule to reflect the rise court fees at a meeting Monday.
The increase comes as a result of a change in state law that allows municipalities to raise the amount being assessed to cover municipal court operations.
Shawano-Bonduel Municipal Court brought in $121,156 in revenue last year through fines and fees. The city budgeted municipal court revenue this year of $130,000, but because actual revenue has been falling short of that, the city lowered its expectations for next year.
The 2014 budget estimated an 11.5 percent drop in municipal court revenue next year, down to $115,000. However, that was before the increase adopted on Monday.
Total municipal court expenditures for 2014 are budgeted at $80,773, a 1.9 percent increase from this year’s budget of $79,290.