Impact of Municipal Fines and Fees in Low-Income Communities

May 12, 20202:00 – 3:30 PM EST

Welcome

Anju ChopraSenior Policy Manager Prosperity Now

Housekeeping

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Prosperity

Now’s mission

is to ensure

everyone in our

country has a

clear path to

financial stability,

wealth and

prosperity.

Today’s Agenda

✓ Welcome, Housekeeping, Context Setting

✓ Landscape of Fines and Fees in the US

✓ State Perspective and Practice, NC and IL

✓ Policy Recommendations

✓ Next Steps & Close

Today’s Speakers

Ellen Schumer,

Community

Organizing and

Family Issues,

IL

Rosazlia Grillier,

POWER-PAC IL,

Stepping Out of

Poverty Campaign

Ryan Smith,

Office of

Performance and

Innovation, City

of Durham

Priya Sarathy

Jones, Fines and

Fees Justice

Center

Participant Feedback

Use the chat box to tell us how fines and fees are impacting low-income individuals and families in your community.

Landscape of Fines and Fees in the US

Fines & Fees

“City, police, and court officials for years have worked in concert to maximize revenue at every stage of the enforcement process, beginning with how fines and fine enforcement processes are established.”

Not Just a Ferguson Problem

• Governments across the country have

long levied fines and fees.

• After the Great Recession of 2007,

many local jurisdictions greatly

increased their usage of fines and fees.

Addicted to Fines – Governing Magazine

• Fines account for over 10% of general

revenues in more that 600 US Jurisdictions.

• Data and map from Governing,

“Addicted to Fines” by Mike Maciag, August 21, 2019

What are Fines and Fees?

• Examples of Fines and Fees

• Criminal justice “user” fees (e.g., fees for probation, electronic monitoring, and public

defender services).

• Traffic and transportation fines and fees (e.g., parking and traffic tickets, towing and booting

fines, and fines for fare evasion).

• Fees imposed on incarcerated people and their

support networks (e.g., marked-up prices for jail phone calls and commissary)

• Fines for municipal code violations (e.g. fine for

letting grass grow to long, or violation of health

code, building code or sanitation code)

• Definitions

• Fines: Monetary sanction imposed as

punishment for violating the law – either

criminal or civil.

• Fees: Costs, assessments, surcharges

imposed to access services or fund the

justice system or other government services.

Impact: High pain for low-income people and people of color

• Failure to pay can result in a cascade of

negative consequences:

• Hundreds or thousands of dollars of debt

• Poverty

• Driver’s license suspensions

• Wage garnishment

• Damage to credit score

• Tax refund intercepts

• Disproportionately burden low-income people

and people of color.

• Fines, fees, and financial penalties make it

harder for low-income people to afford basic

goods and services (e.g., rent, childcare, and

food).

• High amounts of criminal justice debt correlates

with higher recidivism

Impact: Low-gain for government

• Many governments receive little to no financial benefit from fines and fees,

due to the high cost of collections efforts.

• A recent study by the Brennan Center for Justice found that in 2016 Bernalillo County -- home to the City of Albuquerque, the largest city in the New Mexico –

spends $1.17 to collect every dollar of fines and fees revenue.

• Texas and New Mexico counties studied by the Brennan Center spent 41 cents of

every dollar of revenue raised on expenses for in-court hearings and jail costs alone.

• High reliance of fines and fees correlates with poor public safety outcomes

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State Perspective and Practice: NC and IL

Seven Lessons Learned from Durham’s

Efforts to Address Fines and Fees

May 12, 2020

Ryan Smith, Innovation & Performance Manager

ryan.smith@durhamnc.gov

Lesson 1: Data is crucial to understanding the problemMapping helps us see disparities in compelling ways and how many are impacted

License suspensions were geographically concentrated in lower income neighborhoods of color.

Water cutoffs are more highly concentrated in low-income neighborhoods of color.

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Lesson 2: Building trust is crucial to solving it. We found the best strategies engage bothpeople directly impacted and

those with power over the processes.

Our process acknowledged & responded to the deficits of trust that

existed between many affected

residents and the government.

● We hired an outreach

coordinator to help us identify

and interview justice involved

residents. He is a lifelong Durham

resident and was formerly justice-involved.

● We paid residents living in public

housing who had experienced

water cutoffs to interview other residents impacted by water-

related debt.

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Lesson 3:

Data can

make new

actions

possible

20

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Over 50,000 charges dismissed Tickets from 1st mass relief session

Lesson 4. Ask yourself: Do people really need to apply?

Outcomes of license restoration work - 2019

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Over 8,500 tickets waived

Over $1.5M in debt relief

1. Engage program participants in program design.

1. Make the action you want people to take as easy as possible.

2. Design program participation in a way that acknowledges

existing trust deficits and that makes people feel safe.

3. Shift the burden from the person who needs relief to the

government providing it.

Lesson 5: If people need to apply, think carefully

about how to encourage participation. Four strategies to avoid unintentionally discouraging participation.

1. Resident has make an appointment with Dept Social Services.2. Resident arrives for the appointment to meet with social worker,

who often waits on hold for 30 - 45 minutes to speak with someone from the water utility to determine eligibility.

3. DSS prints a voucher that resident has to sign, which is then signed by the social workers supervisor.

4. The resident must then bring the voucher back in person to the water utility, where they have find parking and wait in line.

Case study: Durham’s water hardship fund

Durham’s Water Hardship Fund is consistently underutilized.

The City decreased the amount of the fund by $50,000 per year because they

thought it was not needed based on the fact that funds were going unused.

Yet 1000’s were still having their water cutoff.

Our approach to water fines & fees includes

● Ending delinquency fee● Increasing hardship fund &

improving the process● Changing repayment options● Changing how we

communicate billing● Addressing issues between

landlords and renters● Providing financial coaching

Lesson 6: Addressing fines & fees often entails a

multi-faceted approach.

Our approach to license fines & fees includes

● Mass relief programs that waive 10,000s of unpaid tickets at once

● Access to free attorneys co-located courthouse

● Free community clinics● Addressing inability to pay in our

courts● Advocacy to reform state laws

that indefinitely suspend for failure to pay

Lesson 7: COVID-19 has only made worse a matter

that was already urgent before the virus.

● The Gov. of NC enacted a 60-day moratorium on water

cutoffs in response to COVID-19.

● By mid-April, the City of Durham had over 1,700 households in

jeopardy of having their water cutoff.

● What will happen when the moratorium is lifted in my state

and in states across the country?

• We are a nearly 25-year-old parent leadership and organizing center that works with parents across Illinois to empower communities and foster leadership development.

• Our STRATEGY is grounded in the knowledge that low-income parents of color can be highly effective civic leaders – when given the opportunity, skills training, and support – and that, as civic leaders, they prioritize an action agenda focused on racial and economic equity for their children and families.

Community Organizing and Family Issues (COFI)

• POWER-PAC IL stands for Parents Organized to Win, Educate and Renew—Policy Action Council Illinois. POWER-PAC IL is a statewide membership organization of COFI-trained parents - mostly of African-American and Latina mothers and grandmothers whose goal is advance equity and justice for families.

• POWER-PAC IL is staff supported by Community Organizing and Family Issues (COFI).

P O W E R - P A C I L

• Parent to parent conversations had created trust to have hard conversations

POWER-PAC IL released the Stepping Out of POVERTY Report in January 2018With Attorney General and Chicago Alderman

• Grassroots leaders +

• expertise and commitment =

• deeper knowledge,

• partnerships, and fresh strategies

• to fight poverty

Parent-to-parent survey on Family Finances

Survey results

Type of Debt Reported by

Respondents

Debt is a major, continual

problem for low-income families.

INDEBTEDNESS HOLDS FAMILIES BACK

INDEBTEDNESS

ENDANGERS FAMILIES’ HEALTH

ROSAZLIA

GRILLIER

● Mother of two daughters; attended

COFI training when they were young

● Founded Southside Parents United

Roundtable (SPUR)

● Co-President of POWER-PAC IL for 6

years; now President Emeritus

● Co-Chair of Stepping Out of Poverty

(STOP) POWER-PAC IL

CAMPAIGN HIGHLIGHTSMedia Attention

Our report raised public awareness and led to a focus from key media partners on these

issues - including ProPublica Illinois, NPR, and the major Chicago dailies

POWER-PAC IL leaders share our stories and recommendations!

CAMPAIGN HIGHLIGHTS

Chicago City Council Aldermen Show Support

We also used our stories in meetings with key Alderman - particularly in the Black and

Latino Caucuses – gaining their support bit by bit.

We brought together researchers, aldermen, advocates, officials from various city departments along with POWER-PAC IL parent leaders

We examined barriers faced by Chicago families struggling with debts owed to the city.

We co-hosted community roundtables and released recommendations last June.

City Clerk Anna Valencia Joins POWER-pAC IL to CREATE THE FINES

FEES AND ACCESS COLLABORATIVE

We made sure out campaign was front and center in the Chicago Mayoral Campaign.

And when the new Mayor Lori Lightfoot was elected she pledged reform.

Mayoral Support

● City debt payment plan reforms

● City Sticker amnesty period

● Elimination of library late fees and end to water shut-offs

● License to Work Act passed

Early Victories

● We quickly called on the Mayor to freeze ticketing, booting/ impounding of cars and won her support.

● We also won a freeze on utility shutoffs.

● We are fighting for these to be extended and broadened.

Advocacy Around COVID-19FIGHTING FOR OUR FAMILIES

Personal Testimony

Real Impact on Real Families

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE CAMPAIGN GO TO:

WWW.COFIONLINE.ORG

Thanks!

▪This is a group discussion! However,

all webinar attendees are muted at the

start to ensure sound quality.

▪Share comments or ask questions at

any time by typing the question into the

text box on the control panel.

▪If you experience any technical issues,

email gotomeeting@prosperitynow.org

Group Discussion Technology

Participant Feedback

Use the chat box to tell us what policy solutions your state is implementing to mitigate the impact of fines and fees during this time.

Policy Recommendations

COVID-19

Policy Recommendations for our Communities

● State and local jurisdictions should discharge all outstanding fines, fees and court debt. Where full discharge is not yet feasible, government and courts should implement immediately the following alternative.

● Immediately cease issuing and enforcing warrants for unpaid fines and fees or for failure to appear at a hearing addressing u npaid fines and fees.

● State and local jurisdictions should stop driver’s license suspensions for unpaid fines and fees or for not appearing in court, and reinstate driver’s licenses suspended for non-safety reasons.

● Law enforcement officers should release individuals with a warning who are driving on a suspended license. Alternatively, law enforcement

should cite and release any person apprehended for driving on a suspended driver’s license, when the underlying suspension is based on unpaid fines and fees or not appearing in court. Under no circumstances should these individuals be arrested and jailed.

● Local governments should stop issuing parking tickets and municipal code violations that do not impact public safety, and sto p booting, towing and impounding vehicles for unpaid fines and fees

● Judges should waive or reduce any fines they impose, recognizing people’s precarious financial circumstances

● Jurisdictions should proactively and widely communicate any changes made in their fines and fees policies

Fines & Fees Reforms

Cities, counties and states across the country are advancing reforms:

• Multiple cities and states have ended driver’s license suspensions for unpaid fines and fees (e.g., Chicago, San Francisco)

• Multiple States, cities and counties have eliminated fees in the

juvenile justice system (Alameda,CA, Philadelphia, Orleans Parish, LA, Nevada, Dane County, WI, Maryland*)

• Multiple jurisdictions have reduced or eliminated fees for jail phone calls (e.g., Shelby County, TN; New York City; San Francisco)

• 3 counties have eliminated criminal justice administrative fees

(Alameda, San Francisco, and Contra Costa)• National campaign to end the use of driver’s license suspensions

• Cities across the country starting task forces and working groups to address their fines and fees.

For additional information on local reforms, visit the Fines and Fees Justice Center Clearinghouse.

FREE TO DRIVE:

CYCLE OF POVERTY AND PUNISHMENT

Cities and Counties for Fine and Fee Justice

• A new leadership network providing local government leaders with the support

needed to advance cutting-edge reforms to fines, fees, other penalties, and

collections practices.

• The network’s long-term goal is to create a cohort of cities and counties that act as

national leaders, create innovative models of effective reforms, and inspire localities

across the country to do the same.

• Cities & Counties for Fine and Fee Justice is a joint initiative of PolicyLink, The San

Francisco Financial Justice Project, and the Fines and Fees Justice Center.

COVID-19

Policy Recommendations for the

Criminal Legal System

● Co-pays for medical visits of people in custody should be waived

● Incarcerated people should be provided free liquid soap, hand sanitizer, and other disinfecting products

● People who are incarcerated and their families and loved ones should be provided with free, easily

accessible phone and email communication.

● Release any individuals incarcerated for outstanding fines and fees, and stop jailing or detaining

individuals for unpaid fines and fees.

● Probation and parole should not be extended or revoked, nor sanctions imposed, for unpaid fines and

fees or other technical violations.

COVID-19 Fines and Fees Policy Tracker

Chicago● Delay referral of parking, red light, speed camera tickets to collection firms until after April 30, 2020.

● No defaults of payment plans for until after April 30, 2020 and no new interest accumulated on current compliance plans including city

tickets, utility bills, parking and red-light citations, booting and other non-public safety related violations.

● Delay driver’s license suspensions until after April 30, 2020.

● Through at least April 30, the city will suspend booting, late fees and defaults on payment plans for all city debts, and is suspending city

debt checks for ride-share and taxi drivers.

● Through at least April 30, the city will be limiting ticketing, towing and impounding solely to what are public safety-related issues.

● Extend utility bill due dates and referral to collection firms until after April 30, 2020.

Minnesota

● Minnesota’s court system will stop sending out late penalty notices and assessing the late penalties for all citations; halt the automated

process by which a person’s license is suspended for failure to appear; and stop referring past-due payment cases to the Department of

Revenue for collections.

● Minnesota prison officials waived co-pays charged to people for medical visits and waived fees for personal hygiene supplies.

● St. Paul waived vehicle towing and storage charges through the first week of May and suspended debt collection through June 30.

COVID-19 Fines and Fees Advocacy Materials

● FFJC sent a letter to Florida Governor DeSantis outlining our fines and fees policy

recommendations: Link

● FFJC sent a letter to New York Governor Cuomo outlining our fines and fees policy

recommendations: Link

● The Free to Drive Coalition called on the American Association of Motor Vehicle

Administrators to urge member agencies to end debt-related driver’s license suspensions:

Link

FFJC Trackers

COVID-19 Fines and Fees Policy Tracker

https://finesandfeesjusticecenter.org/articles/ffjc-policy-recommendations-for-the-covid-

19-crisis/

COVID-19 Advocacy Materials

https://finesandfeesjusticecenter.org/articles/covid-19-crisis-advocacy-materials/

New York’s COVID-19 Response

● FFJC sent a letter to New York Governor Cuomo outlining our fines and fees policy

recommendations: Link

● Four coalitions are working together to call for emergency fine and fee relief:

○ Three fee abolition coalitions (one to abolish a statewide fee, one to abolish Buffalo’s

local traffic fees, and one to abolish fees for phone calls and other communication in

jails and prisons); and○ One coalition with a mission of ending driver’s license suspensions for not paying or

not appearing to contest traffic tickets.

● Additionally, advocates from the Justice Roadmap held a “People’s Briefing” that included

coverage of how fines and fees are harming people behind bars during COVID-19.

What’s Next?

● Budget impacts, research, information

● Communities hardest hit

● Alternative revenue and budgeting processes

● Advocacy for permanent changes

● Cities and Counties for Fine and Fee Justice

Resources

● Fines and Fees Justice Center Clearinghouse: www.finesandfeesjusticecenter.org

● Free to Drive: www.freetodrive.org

▪This is a group discussion! However,

all webinar attendees are muted at the

start to ensure sound quality.

▪Share comments or ask questions at

any time by typing the question into the

text box on the control panel.

▪If you experience any technical issues,

email gotomeeting@prosperitynow.org

Group Discussion Technology

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