Area criminals may soon pay more for their crimes, after Shelby County Commissioners passed an ordinance that will assess a new fine on misdemeanants and felons.
Commissioners voted 9-2-1 during the Monday, June 16, meeting to issue a $12.50 fine to anyone convicted of a crime in the county, except indigent criminals. Revenue from the fine will help fill budgetary gaps in the district attorney’s office, officials said.
“It’s important to point out that we are not asking for any county money. This is a $12.50 fee that would be paid only by people that are convicted criminals. That is to say, convicted of a misdemeanor or a felony,” said Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy.
Last year, the Tennessee General Assembly passed a law allowing county clerks to charge a fine on behalf of district attorneys. An identical fine is already levied on behalf of the county’s public defender’s office. It takes in around $100,000 annually.
“If somebody has a problem with that, it seems to me they would need to revisit the public defender’s $12.50 fund. Which has been operating without incident, without problems, for the last 20 years,” said Mulroy.
The item requires a nine-vote majority through third and final reading to become local law. Many counties already have adopted a similar ordinance.
Mulroy said the extra money would help his office’s clearance rate. Routine computer software updates are a particular strain and added funding also would allow the office to devote more resources to lab work. It also would prevent the need for unexpected funding requests.
“It will speed up the criminal justice process and do a lot of things that make us have to come back to you for budgetary items less frequently,” said Mulroy.
Still, the thought of added financial burden on newly released criminals did not sit well with all members. Many of them come from disadvantaged backgrounds. Plus, a flat fee puts all crimes on the same level.
“Do we want to do that to the people when you are giving them a misdemeanor or a felony? A flat fee will disproportionately impact low income individuals, compared to those who have greater financial resources,” said Commissioner Erika Sugarmon.
The argument failed to resonate.
The county is currently paying additional costs as the Memphis Safe Task Force remains deployed. On top of that, commissioners are in the middle of approving a scaled down $4.93 million settlement between the sheriff’s office and Mayor Lee Harris’ office over unfunded overtime costs. Much of the money is being paid to deputies at the Shelby County Jail.
That unforeseen expense angered commissioners, who are haggling over Harris’ proposed $1.6 billion FY2027 budget. Funding for some line items, such as victims advocates groups, might not make the cut.
“We are talking about not being able to support victim advocates in our community, not having the funds for that, when individuals go out and commit a crime and can afford thousands of dollars for a lawyer, to say they can’t pay $12.50 when they are committing the crime,” said Commissioner Charlie Caswell, who sponsored the proposed ordinance.
He also dismissed concerns about the fine’s potential for overapplication. “This is not to hurt those who can’t (afford) — understand that. Our D.A. has a track record,” said Caswell.
Commissioners voting in favor of the ordinance were Chairwoman Shante Avant, Michael Whaley, Miska Clay-Bibbs, Amber Mills, Matthew Szalaj, Brandon Morrison, Mick Wright, David Bradford and Caswell. Henri Brooks and Sugarmon voted against the item and Britney Thornton abstained. Commissioner Mickell Lowery did not attend the meeting.
