Kiwanis member Tiffany Beckman introduced Judge Suzanne Rister as the guest speaker to talk more about the Paulding County Court. A task of the court is to collect money from tickets. Money from traffic tickets are usually dispersed in 3 ways. The state of Ohio receives money from each ticket and that money then goes to the general fund, to aid crime victims, as well as drug and alcohol treatment programs. Municipalities and the county receive another portion of the ticket monies. “If you get a speeding ticket in Oakwood, Oakwood would receive a portion of that ticket money,” says Judge Rister. Lastly some money from a ticket is retained by the court to be used for things like software updates and other updates that allow them to more efficiently run their office. In 2018 there were over $1,000,000 in receipts and $12,000 was worked off through community services in lieu of payment; and house arrests monitored through the court saved $40,000 in jail costs in 2018.
The money paid by those who received tickets was also used to provide a new DNR officer in Paulding County. The money also helped fund a special project to provide all Sheriff’s Deputies the ability to use e-citations which takes place of handwritten tickets. E-citations are neatly printed tickets that require the deputy or officer to enter in the offender’s information rather than writing out the entire ticket. This technology is currently used by the State Highway Patrol.
Judge Rister mentioned the new distracted driving law which is a secondary offense and can be given on top of a speeding ticket, seat belt ticket, etc. Different from the no texting while driving law, the new law encompasses all types of distractions that can result in accident or injury including messing with the radio or checking your phone. This can result in an extra $100 ticket. “On the plus side you can take an online course to waive that $100 ticket, which some people have chosen to do,” says Judge Rister. Kiwanis thanks Judge Rister for her service to our community. Members will meet next Thursday over lunch.
