MADISON – A bill to help fully fund our municipal courts, authored by Rep. Dean Kaufert [R–Neenah], passed the State Assembly with bipartisan support. The bill (AB 443) increases the maximum fee a municipal court can charge a defendant by $10, from $38 to $48. Municipal courts are finding it increasingly difficult to fund court operations with the existing fee structure, because of the significant inflationary costs of the past 4-5 years. This has led to more of the cost burden falling on local taxpayers with tax levy subsidies to close the funding gap. AB 443 does not require a municipality to increase this fee, but gives them the option. This fee has not been adjusted since 2013.
“The municipal court fee is supposed to cover the costs of operating the court, so participating municipalities do not have to subsidize it with tax dollars,” Kaufert said. “This bill ensures that municipal court costs are paid for by the offenders, not local taxpayers through tax levy dollars.”
Municipal Courts in Wisconsin are courts of limited jurisdiction that can only hear cases that involve the violation of municipal rules. There are over 200 municipal courts in Wisconsin. The typical cases heard in these courts involve speeding, parking, other traffic infractions, and ordinance violations. Municipal courts may also hear juvenile offenses such as truancy, underage drinking, and underage substance offenses.
Under current law, a municipal court can collect a fee of between $15 to $38 (determined by the municipality) on each case to fund the cost of operating the municipal court. The fee is imposed if there is a default of appearance, there is a plea of guilty or no contest, on issuance of a warrant or summons, or the action is tried as a contested matter.
Municipal courts handle around 500,000 cases every year, significantly easing the burden on our circuit courts. They also save taxpayers money because they are far less expensive than circuit courts, where many of these offenses would otherwise have to be adjudicated without a municipal court. The bill now moves to the State Senate for consideration.
