City Washburn online ticket payment issues to be resolved at next meeting
May 8, 2019
Vinnie Roberts
At a city council meeting on Tuesday, April 16, Washburn City Clerk Emily Arnett made the alderpersons aware of an issue regarding the payment of traffic tickets needing to be resolved immediately.
According to Arnett, after several calls from confused citizens regarding their ability to pay their traffic fines online, she was prompted to conduct further investigation into the complaints. She discovered the Washburn Police Department hands out business cards with traffic tickets with instructions on how to pay fines online. Washburn, however, does not currently have an online payment system in place.
After conducting further research, Arnett concluded that an online payment system was put in place under the previous city clerk, but due to a lack of communication, payments to the system were cancelled without realizing their importance.
Arnett then contacted Washburn City Attorney Darlene Parrigon about the matter. According to Arnett, Parrigon said the city has to have a system in place for online payments to be in compliance with state law.
Arnett told the council members she would work throughout the month on finding a suitable service to process the ticket payments.
After some pricing comparisons and a few weeks of digging, Arnett settled on a service called Jetpay. The service will transfer money from online traffic and court payments meant for the Washburn court to the appropriate accounts.
It will not cost the city anything to utilize, instead exacting a small convenience fee from the defendant to process payments online. People still have the option to pay the city directly for no additional fee. The online payments will be processed through the Jetpay website. The City of Washburn does not have a dedicated website.
Arnett plans to present her findings to the council at their next meeting on Tuesday, May 21. Should the council move to accept this service, the cards handed out to citizens during traffic stops will be amended to reflect the correct information regarding online payment options.
For more information about Washburn courts or how to handle traffic court payments, contact Washburn City Hall at (417) 826-5242 or 321 Main Street, Washburn.
Vinnie Roberts
At a city council meeting on Tuesday, April 16, Washburn City Clerk Emily Arnett made the alderpersons aware of an issue regarding the payment of traffic tickets needing to be resolved immediately.
According to Arnett, after several calls from confused citizens regarding their ability to pay their traffic fines online, she was prompted to conduct further investigation into the complaints. She discovered the Washburn Police Department hands out business cards with traffic tickets with instructions on how to pay fines online. Washburn, however, does not currently have an online payment system in place.
After conducting further research, Arnett concluded that an online payment system was put in place under the previous city clerk, but due to a lack of communication, payments to the system were cancelled without realizing their importance.
Arnett then contacted Washburn City Attorney Darlene Parrigon about the matter. According to Arnett, Parrigon said the city has to have a system in place for online payments to be in compliance with state law.
Arnett told the council members she would work throughout the month on finding a suitable service to process the ticket payments.
After some pricing comparisons and a few weeks of digging, Arnett settled on a service called Jetpay. The service will transfer money from online traffic and court payments meant for the Washburn court to the appropriate accounts.
It will not cost the city anything to utilize, instead exacting a small convenience fee from the defendant to process payments online. People still have the option to pay the city directly for no additional fee. The online payments will be processed through the Jetpay website. The City of Washburn does not have a dedicated website.
Arnett plans to present her findings to the council at their next meeting on Tuesday, May 21. Should the council move to accept this service, the cards handed out to citizens during traffic stops will be amended to reflect the correct information regarding online payment options.
For more information about Washburn courts or how to handle traffic court payments, contact Washburn City Hall at (417) 826-5242 or 321 Main Street, Washburn.
