Wichita City Council gives initial OK to $2 increase for traffic tickets

The cost of bad driving just went up $2.

The Wichita City Council on Tuesday increased the court costs assessed on traffic tickets from $65 to $67.

The additional $2 includes a 50-cent charge mandated by a new state law to pay for judicial education plus a $1.50 local increase to cover increased costs of adjudicating cases, said Donte Martin, clerk of the Wichita Municipal Court.

Overall, the fee increase will generate about $25,000 a year in additional revenue for the state and $75,000 for the city.

In addition to the general increase, the city also will increase the cost of having a Municipal Court criminal conviction expunged from a person’s record.

The filing fee for expungements will rise from $75 to $90.

That change will generate about an additional $3,000 for the city.

One court charge is going down, at least in some cases.

People who fail to comply with traffic tickets now face a $20 charge for each violation alleged on the ticket. The city’s action Tuesday changes that to a flat $20 for the whole ticket.

“I think it clears up a lot of issues we needed to address,” said Mayor Jeff Longwell. “I especially like the $20 per case, not $20 per infraction. I think that will make a difference.”

If the ordinance passes a second and final reading next week as expected, the new fee structure will take effect Feb. 26.

This story was originally published February 16, 2016 at 11:16 AM with the headline "Wichita City Council gives initial OK to $2 increase for traffic tickets."