Time’s running out to get 50% off on Columbus traffic tickets. What residents need to know
Area residents with unpaid Columbus traffic tickets are running out of time to take advantage of the city’s offer to cut their fines in half, with a proportional drop in court fees.
The discount is aimed at reducing a backlog in traffic cases caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has compelled the city to postpone all traffic court sessions until Jan. 19.
Those who do not pay their fines ahead of time will have their court hearings rescheduled, but may not have received notices in the mail yet.
The offer to reduce fines by 50% expires Jan. 15. It does not apply to violations for which specific fine amounts are set by law, among them distracted driving, wearing no seat belt and child-restraint seat violations.
For those fines that are discounted, the related court fees, often set as a percentage of the fine amount, will be reduced proportionately. Those ticketed can calculate their fine online at www.columbusga.gov/MyFine, but the site’s online payment system is not functioning, currently, because of a new court records software program.
The Recorder’s Court clerk has opened a drive-through service window that’s open 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday at the 702 10th St. court building next to the Muscogee County Jail. The window also has an after-hours drop box for payments, and a second drop box inside the lobby.
Anyone entering the building is required to wear a mask and to social distance, to lessen the risk of spreading COVID-19.
The epidemic compelled authorities to curtail traffic court hearings because they typically drew dozens of people to a courtroom that lacked the capacity to seat everyone, which crowded the lobby outside with no room for safe distancing. The lobby became congested recently when those with summons to traffic court showed up, unaware their hearings had to be rescheduled.
“It’s not safe,” said Recorder’s Court Clerk Clautretta Williams. The backlog once involved thousands of individual citations, but since has been reduced, she said: “We’re not there anymore,” she said. “We’ve gotten them down. And see, that’s inclusive of people just saying, ‘OK, I’ll reschedule.’ Some people have done that. So we’ve been able to just reschedule them. Right now we’re out to April of 2021, in addition to people going ahead and paying, so we’ve been able to substantially reduce some of that.”
Those ticketed can reschedule by calling 706-653-4356, she said, adding, “We’re receiving a lot of calls.”
This story was originally published December 21, 2020 at 6:00 AM.