Jim George, Lawrence, swears in a defendant in small-claims court at the Judicial & Law Enforcement Center, 111 E. 11th St. The dollar amount for small-claims cases in Kansas was increased from ,800 to ,000. George tended court on Thursday.

As the old saying goes, crime doesn’t pay – but it does produce revenue for the city.

It may begin producing even more as Lawrence City Commissioners tonight consider raising several Municipal Court fees and creating a few new ones.

“We feel like the fee increase is justified,” said Toni Wheeler, who oversees Municipal Court operations as the city’s director of Legal Services. “The fees that we’re recommending are not out of line with the fees charged by cities of a similar size.”

Wheeler’s staff is recommending several fee increases for offenses other than standard traffic and parking tickets. The changes include:

¢ A new $150 probation fee. People placed on probation by Municipal Court would be required to pay the one-time fee to help offset the costs of the city’s full-time probation officer. If the fee isn’t paid, defendants could be given an additional year of probation to provide them more time to pay the fee, or they could be ordered to perform community service instead of paying the fee.

¢ A new $10 fingerprinting fee. Municipal Court routinely fingerprints several people each day who are convicted of various crimes such as misdemeanor theft, battery or drug possession.

¢ A system to charge people who are placed in the Douglas County Jail. Currently, the city pays about $50 a day for each person convicted in Municipal Court and sentenced to jail time. Last year, that amounted to about $68,000 that the city paid the county. Wheeler recommends the city recoup those costs from defendants who have the means to pay. The Municipal Court judge will determine whether an individual has the means.

¢ A $100 increase in the fee that a person must pay to have charges diverted – a legal way to avoid a trial and keep a crime from appearing on a person’s legal record. In many cases, the city charges $50 to have a charge diverted.

Municipal Court prosecutors also plan to begin asking Municipal Court Judge Randy McGrath to begin imposing higher fines for cases such as operating under the influence, theft, battery, minor in possession, possession of marijuana and other offenses. Jerry Little, the city’s lead prosecutor, said he planned to ask the judge to increase fines by about $100.

The recommendation to increase court fees and fines comes at a time when the city faces a tight budget. City Manager David Corliss already has recommended that city commissioners increase the city’s property tax rate by about 1 mill in 2008 and increase swimming pool fees.

The money generated by the new fees will go into the city’s general fund, which means it can be used for any of the city’s day-to-day operations.

People leaving Municipal Court on Monday said they didn’t want the city to balance its budget through increased court fines.

“I don’t see a problem with people paying for the time they spend in jail,” said William Perkins, a Lawrence resident. “But I don’t think the justice system should be a revenue-generating vehicle. But it looks like it is in some cases.”

The court – even under the current fine system – does generate more revenue than it spends. The court generates about $2.75 million annually in fines and fees, but only requires about $690,000 to operate.

Wheeler, though, said the city wasn’t trying to balance the budget through court fines and fees. The court revenues represent only about 4 percent of the city’s approximately $58 million general fund budget.

City leaders, however, make no apologies that the court takes in more money than it needs to operate. They say that is fair because much of the excess revenue helps fund the Police Department, which enforces many laws Municipal Court oversees. The Police Department – which generates virtually no revenue – has a budget of about $14.5 million.

“The fines and fees account for a very small portion of the money that is needed to enforce the law,” Wheeler said. “The fines and fees don’t even come close to covering it all.”

Commissioners will meet at 6:35 tonight at City Hall, Sixth and Massachusetts streets.