Court system expands ways people can pay fees, fines
Apr. 5—The Administrative Office of the Courts has expanded the way people can pay court fees and fines.
On Saturday, the court system began a program that allows people to pay court fees and fines with cash at select retail outlets. Meanwhile, people on supervised release through the Daviess County Probation and Parole office can pay fees with cash through an automated kiosk at the probation office.
Similar kiosks for cash payments will also be installed in judicial centers later this year.
Previously, people could only pay fines with cash by visiting a judicial center during regular business hours. Online payments are available through the AOC's website, but require a credit or debit card.
The court system was able to expand cash payments through a $14.7 million allocation state lawmakers made to the courts in the state budget for technology upgrades.
"The additional payment option removes barriers that can add stress to an already stressful situation for people trying to pay court costs and other amounts due," AOC director Laurie K. Givens said in a press release. "The expansion will also meet the needs of our unbanked population."
According to a 2022 survey by the Federal Insurance Deposit Corp., 4.5% of U.S. households were "unbanked in 2012, meaning that no one in the household had a checking or savings account at a bank or credit union." Another 14% were "underbanked," meaning they had used non-traditional banking methods to meet their credit needs, such as using a check-cashing business or a rent-to-own business.
The retail cash payment system was tested in Fayette, Fleming, Nelson and Calloway counties before being rolled out to the rest of the state.
Under the system, people can pay court fees and fines at several stores in the Owensboro area: Dollar General; Family Dollar; CVS, Walgreens and Walmart. Payments can also be made at other retail outlets, like Pilot/Flying J convenience stores, 7-Eleven, Speedway, Stripes, Kum & Go, gomart and Royal Farms.
To make a cash payment through a retail outlet, a person must first register and get a bar code at cashpaytoday.com. The barcode is printed out and presented to the retailer with the payment. The bar codes contain no case information, so the payer's privacy is protected.
Either full or partial cash payments can be made for fines.
More information is available on the court system's website: kycourts.gov.
Daviess County's Probation and Parole office is one of 26 offices across the state with an automated kiosk for paying court fines with cash. Only the judicial center in Fayette County currently has a similar kiosk. In an email, Jamie Neal, public information specialist with the AOC, said the state court system will consult with Daviess Circuit Clerk Jennifer Hardesty Besecker about placing a kiosk in the Holbrook Judicial Center.
The cash payment system is one of four technology projects the state courts system is pursuing. The courts are also working on expanding the use of video arraignments and video conferencing, creating an online portal for people representing themselves in court and a system for redacting personal information from court records.