[Ord. No. 06-03, 2-16-2006]
A. A County Commission may establish by ordinance or order a fund whose proceeds may be expended only for the purposes provided for in Subsection
(C) of this Section. The fund shall be designated as a Cass County Law Enforcement Restitution Fund and shall be under the supervision of a Board of Trustees consisting of two (2) citizens of the County appointed by the Presiding Commission of the County, two (2) citizens of the County appointed by the Sheriff of the County and one (1) citizen of the County appointed by the County Treasurer. The citizens so appointed shall not be current or former employees of the Sheriff's office, the office of the Prosecuting Attorney of the County or the County Treasurer's office.
B. Money from the Cass County Law Enforcement Restitution Fund shall only be expended upon the approval of a majority of the members of the Cass County Law Enforcement Restitution Fund's Board of Trustees and only for the purposes provided for by Subsection
(C) of this Section.
C. Money
from the Cass County Law Enforcement Restitution Fund shall only be
expended for the following purposes:
1. Narcotics investigation, prevention and intervention; and
2. Purchase of law enforcement related equipment and supplies for the
Sheriff's office; and
3. Matching funds for Federal or State law enforcement grants; and
4. Funding for the reporting of all State and Federal crime statistics
or information; and
5. Any law enforcement related expense, including those of the Prosecuting
Attorney, approved by the Board of Trustees for the County Law Enforcement
Restitution Fund that is reasonably related to investigation, charging,
preparation, trial and disposition of criminal cases before the courts
of the State of Missouri.
D. The
Cass County Commission may not reduce any law enforcement agency's
budget as a result of funds the law enforcement agency receives from
the Cass County Law Enforcement Restitution Fund. The Restitution
Fund is to be used only as a supplement to the law enforcement agency's
funding received from other County, State or Federal funds.
E. Cass
County law enforcement restitution funds shall be audited as are all
other County funds.
F. No
court may order the assessment and payment authorized by this Section
if the plea of guilty or the finding of guilt is to the charge of
speeding, careless and imprudent driving, any charge of violating
a traffic control signal or sign or any charge which is a Class C
misdemeanor or an infraction. No assessment and payment ordered pursuant
to this Section may exceed three hundred dollars ($300.00) for any
charged offense.
G. Any
request for payment from this fund by authorized County Law Enforcement
Officials shall be by written voucher or memo to the Board. The Board
will approve any request by a majority vote. The Board may meet in
person, by telephone, e-mail or in writing for approving any request.
H. The
Circuit Clerk and Associate Circuit Clerks shall pay all funds for
the Cass County Law Enforcement Restitution Fund as collected or on
a monthly basis to the County Treasurer for the Restitution Fund Account.
I. The
Board of Trustees shall provide to the Cass County Commission and
to Cass County Law Enforcement Official's quarterly reports on the
Cass County Law Enforcement Restitution Fund showing amount received
and expenditures.
J. The
court may order the assessment and payment of a designated amount
of restitution to the Cass County Law Enforcement Restitution Fund
established by the County Commission pursuant to Section 50.565, RSMo.
Such contribution shall not exceed three hundred dollars ($300.00)
for any charged offense. Any restitution monies deposited into the
Cass County Law Enforcement Restitution Fund pursuant to this Section
shall only be expended pursuant to the provisions of Section 50.565,
RSMo., and this Section.
K. A judge
shall not have any direct supervisory authority or administrative
control over any fund to which the judge is ordering a defendant to
make payment.
L. A defendant
who fails to make payment to Cass County Law Enforcement Restitution
Fund may not have his or her probation revoked solely for failing
to make such payment unless the judge, after evidentiary hearing,
makes a finding supported by a preponderance of the evidence that
the defendant either willfully refused to make the payment or that
the defendant willfully, intentionally and purposefully failed to
make sufficient bona fide efforts to acquire the resources to pay.