I ORDINANCE BILL NO.

21-12
August 13, 2012
8.2 (a)
2 AN ORDINANCE PROVIDING A ONE-TIME AMNESTY PROGRAM; DECLARING AN
3 EMERGENCY
4 The City of Salem ordains as follows:
5 Section 1. Findings.
6 (a) The City of Salem is currently owed approximately $8.9 million in unpaid fines and
7 other charges imposed by the Salem Municipal Court.
8 (b) In an effort to collect past due fines owed to the City and increase revenue, as well
9 provide an incentive to traffic violators to pay their outstanding fines, the City Council deems it
I 0 to be appropriate to provide a one-time violation anmesty program for a 30-day period, starting
11 on September 17,2012, in order to do the following:
12 (1) Provide relief to individuals who have found themselves in violation of a
13 court-ordered obligation because they are financially unable to pay fines.
14 (2) Provide increased revenue at a time when revenue is scarce by encouraging
15 payment of old fines that have remained unpaid.
16 (3) Allow courts and counties to resolve older delinquent cases and focus limited
17 resources on collecting on more recent cases.
18 Section 2. For the period from September 17, 2012, through October 15, 2012, the City of
19 Salem Finance Division of the Administrative Services Department shall offer an amnesty
20 program for any unpaid fine in a traffic violation case that was assessed by the Municipal Court
21 prior to January 1, 2006. As used in this section, traffic violation means any traffic offense, as
22 defined by ORS 801.555, that is punishable by a fine only. The total unpaid amount of any such
23 fine may be paid during the amnesty period at seventy-five percent (75%) of the outstanding
24 balance due and owing, including collection fees. The amount due must be paid in full, payment
25 plans will not be an option. All payments must be received by AllianceOne, the City's collection
26 agency, not later than October 15, 2012, in order to qualify for the anmesty program. As used in
27 this section, the term fine refers to the total amounts due in connection with a specific traffic
28 violation, which include, but are not limited to, the following:
29 (a) Base fine or bail.
30 (b) Unitary and other assessments imposed by state law.
COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SALEM, OREGON
1 (c) Collection fees as authorized by state law.
2 Section 3. Severability. Each section of this ordinance, and any part thereof, is severable, and
3 if any part of this ordinance is held invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, the remainder of
4 this ordinance shall remain in full force and effect.
5 Section 4. Emergency Clause. This act being necessary for the immediate preservation of the
6 public peace, health, and safety, an emergency is declared to exist, and this ordinance shall be in
7 full force and effect from and after the date of its passage.
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PASSED by the City Council this ___ day of _______ ,, 2012.
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14 Checked by: D. Bond
ATTEST:
City Recorder
Approved by City Attorney:
V'"
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COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SALEM, OREGON