Run a red light or stop sign in Columbus? The cost of the ticket is about to change.

Starting Nov. 1, it will cost less in Muscogee County to run a red light than it has in the past, but it will cost more if you fail to yield for a yield sign.

Columbus Recorder’s Court Judge Julius Hunter has altered the fines for nine common traffic violations. The cost of a ticket for four of them decreased from $200.63 to $166.50. The cost of a ticket for five of the violations increased from $132.38 to $166.50.

Hunter, who became the chief Recorder’s Court judge on Oct. 1, said he reviewed the fines and was trying to bring the cost of the violations in line with one another.

“We were looking to make them consistent,” Hunter said on Tuesday.

The following fines, court costs and fees will change beginning Wednesday:

▪ Failure to stop at a stop sign, Code 40-6-72 — was $200.63, now $166.50.

▪ Red light violations, Code 40-6-21-3A — was $200.63, now $166.50.

▪ Failure to obey traffic control device, Code 40-6-20 — was $200.63, now $166.50.

▪ Failure to stop at a rail road stop sign/gates, Code 40-6-141 — was $200.63, now $166.50.

▪ Failure to yield at a right of way, Code 40-6-70 — was $132.38, now $166.50.

▪ Failure to yield for a yield sign, Code 40-6-72C — was $132.38, now $166.50.

▪ Improper left turn (no accident), Code 40-6-71 — was $132.38, now $166.50.

▪  Improper left turn (no accident), Code 40-6-120a2 — was $132.38, now $166.50.

▪ Improper right turn (no accident), Code 40-6-120a1 — was $132.38, now $166.50.

The costs only applies for motorists who pay the fines before the scheduled court date. Those who have been given citations can still challenge those tickets in court, Hunter said.

If a citation was given prior to Nov. 1, but the ticket is paid on Nov. 1 or afterward, the violator will pay the new fine, Hunter said.

Hunter said he did not know how the change would impact court revenue, but he noted that two of the fines that decreased by $34.13 were two of the most common tickets given by police.

“Failure to yield (running a stop sign), red light violations and speeding tickets make up the bulk of our cases,” Hunter said.

Recorder’s Court is the primary traffic court for Muscogee County, but also handles first-appearance hearings in misdemeanor and felony charges that are bound over to State Court and Superior Court.

Revenue was not a factor in his decision to alter the fee schedule for the nine moving violations, Hunter said.

“This court’s job is not to be a revenue source for the city,” Hunter said. “... With regard to that issue, you should never look at Recorder’s Court as a revenue source, but rather a place where people can come to present their case.”

Hunter replaced Judge Michael Cielinski on the Recorder’s Court bench.

This story was originally published October 31, 2017 at 2:02 PM with the headline "Run a red light or stop sign in Columbus? The cost of the ticket is about to change.."