Fines and Fees in Operating Budget (Seattle Municipal Court)
| Tracking # |
2016-30 |
| Submitted | Sept. 2, 2016 |
| Est. Completion | Sept. 30, 2016 |
MuckRock users can file, duplicate, track, and share public records requests like this one. Learn more.
Communications
From: Bernard Rodriguez
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to RCW Ch. 42.56 (Public Records Act), I hereby request the following records:
* A copy of any official calculations of revenue coming from court fees and fines between FY 11 and FY 15, or calendar year 2010 and calendar 2015 if your government operates on a calendar year budget cycle.
* Accounts Receivable databases that cover fines and fees paid for government services by individuals, rather than businesses. This would include Revenue Journals that cover such payments, as well as other financial statements that cover income from fees and fines.
* Any logs of appeals of fines that is kept by this agency, including, if the log has it, outcome of the appeal, payments made, and other fields that are present in such a log.
*A copy of contracts with any vendors that help manage the assignment, collection, or management of fees and citation information. This would include contracts with vendors that provide parking ticket software, for example, as well as court fees.
*The record layout for any databases that are used to track the assignment, collection, or management of fees, fines and citations. This would just be a copy of the header columns in these databases, and not the information in the databases.
Please provide responsive documents in their native format with metadata. For example, if a spreadsheet or email (.eml) file is available, do not print and scan documents.
For redaction of any kind, please "black out" any relevant sections. Please do not "white out" sections.
The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.
In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.
Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 5 business days, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
Bernard Rodriguez
From: SMC_PIO
Dear Mr. Rodriguez:
I am writing in response to your request for Seattle Municipal Court Records dated September 2, 2016 and received by the Court on September 6, 2016.
The Seattle Municipal Court provides records in accordance with Washington State Court Rules and Seattle Municipal Court Policy. For more information, please visit: http://www.seattle.gov/courts/pio/piohome.htm.
The Washington State Public Records Act, RCW 42.56, does not apply to courts, as they are not agencies as defined in the Act. This has been affirmed most recently by the Supreme Court of Washington in their 2009 decision in City of Federal Way v. Koenig, 217 P. 3d 1172.
Due to the potential number of records related to your request, I will need to provide you with updates in installments according to the below schedule:
1st Update: September 30, 2016
2nd Update: October 31, 2016
3rd Update: November 30, 2016 (if needed).
After the initial first hour of work, Washington State Court Rules allow for Courts to charge a research fee of $30/hour for time spent researching and compiling responsive records. I will alert you when we have reached the end of the first hour of time spent on your request. Once records are compiled, the Court charges a fee of $.50/page for copies of responsive records. I will provide you with an estimate before making copies.
Responsive records are provided in their native format - paper records are available in paper and electronic records are made available electronically.
If you have further questions, please contact me directly.
Best regards,
Gary
Gary Ireland
Public Disclosure and Communications Advisor
Seattle Municipal Court
V (206) 684-8710
M (206) 290-8731
From: Bernard Rodriguez
Dear Mr. Irelend,
Thank you for the response and clarification regarding this request.
As I will not be submitting payment, I would like to close this request
Thank you for your time and attention in this matter.
Files
pages