In the majority of the counties in the state the City Attorney prosecutes petty misdemeanor, misdemeanor and designated gross misdemeanor violations that occur within the city. In a number of counties in the state the function of prosecution of crimes committed within cities are handled by the County Attorney. That is the case in Crow Wing County for the City of Breezy Point.
Previously the county attorney has done the prosecution with the county collecting the fines and court costs. These were then distributed to the state and city at one third of the total fine amount to each. Last year, with a change in procedure the state collected all fine revenue and distributed it to the city. The city then would distribute one-half of the proceeds to the county for prosecution, as the state kept their third of the revenues. Accomplishing this meant a new agreement with the county was needed to provide for prosecution and fine distribution.
After working this system for about a year the county recognized this system doesn’t work as well as it should and they asked for a change. The change in the contract was approved by the council which will require the county to bill the city semi-annually for their share of the fine revenue. This saves the city monthly activity in generating checks for the county’s share of the proceeds. This procedural change provides for a more efficient approach to managing these functions. It also requires the county to take on the responsibility of billing for the appropriate amount as they receive the records for the distribution of funds.
For future consideration the county has asked to have the city pay for their fair share of prosecution services. Rather than rely on fine revenue as their source of funding they would like to have the city consider a flat rate for services based on volume created by the city. In other words if the city prosecution consumes 5% of the county attorneys time they would look at a pro rated cost of doing that and charge the city in keeping with the work load we generate. This is yet to be negotiated and may result in little fine revenue helping our bottom line but is probably a fairer approach to expenses. The county will address the issue with the city in the near future.
