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SALT LAKE CITY — The Office of the Legislative Auditor General released a report on Tuesday for the Utah Legislature showing that the financial management practices at justice courts could improve, and that the resources are available to give more training regarding collection.
Auditors said the Administrative Office of the Courts should train justice courts on debt collection best practices. Additionally, they said that the courts should begin using the Office of State Debt Collection to collect money from past-due accounts.
"We believe strong collection rates correlate with the high percentage of collections from low-level misdemeanors and infractions. However, most justice courts do not currently track or monitor collection rates and a wide range of experience and knowledge of financial reports suggests management practices can improve," the audit report said.
The auditors found that warrant amounts currently "do not represent collectible fines and fees." Active warrants show a statewide amount of about $592 million, including justice courts and district courts, but actual collectible fines and fees are a little over $50 million.
The audit said that less than 1% of the warrants are expected to be collected, when they are collected it is through bail forfeiture after a defendant does not appear in court. This occurs more frequently in district courts, but is still rare, and includes less than 1% of defendants who fail to appear, the report said.
Justice courts, which account for a smaller expected amount in active warrants, have a large majority of the unpaid fines and fees. Justice courts have multiple ways of collecting and enforcing unpaid fines, including issuing a warrant for arrest, adding additional fees, requiring community service, and suspending a driver's license.
The audit found that most justice courts do not track the collection rates of these fees. It said 71% of justice court clerks reported that collection rates are not tracked at their court. Auditors suggested using the Office of State Debt Collection to help collect unpaid fines, rather than leaving a case open until the fine is paid which is done by a majority of justice courts.
"The AOC is positioned to lead in this area and can do more to provide oversight and training. We recommend that the AOC train justice courts in tracking collection rates and identify collection practices that low-performing courts can apply," the audit suggested.
More than 95% of the collections are from "lower-level misdemeanors and infractions," including traffic citations, according to the audit. Most justice courts have a high rate of collection, some are at 100% and the average is 88%, however, there are three justice courts with collection rates below 60%.
In a letter to the Office of the Legislative Auditor General responding to the audit, the Administrative Office of the Courts said that it supports the two official recommendations in the report, including the need for additional training courts on best practices and using the Office of State Debt Collection for past-due accounts.
"We recognize the need for ongoing training, and as mentioned in the report, in August 2020, the AOC created a new position for a training coordinator for the justice courts," the letter said.
In response to using the state debt collection services, the courts office noted that justice courts are operated by local governments and that this would require both state and local officials to approve policies for collection practices.
"The AOC is committed to providing the necessary support to help justice courts improve their performance, strengthen financial controls, and comply with applicable laws and rules," the letter said.
