(a) In all criminal, quasi-criminal, and traffic cases in district, circuit, and municipal courts in Chilton County, there shall be taxed as costs an additional ten dollars ($10) in each case. The additional court costs shall be collected in all cases where the defendant is adjudged guilty, a bond forfeited, a penalty imposed, or where there is issued any alias or capias warrant of arrest. The court cost assessed and collected herein shall be in addition to and not in lieu of any other fees or costs. The court costs shall not be waived or remitted unless the defendant proves to the reasonable satisfaction of the sentencing judge that the defendant is not capable of paying the fee within the reasonable foreseeable future.
(b) The court costs assessed by this section shall be distributed monthly to the Public Safety Technology Fund, which shall be created in the county treasury. The fund shall be administered by the District Attorney of Chilton County. The moneys disbursed from the fund may be used by the chief of police, Director of Public Safety, or sheriff of the appropriate law enforcement agency for legitimate law enforcement technology or communication purposes. The funds may not be used for salaries or employee benefits.
(c) The Public Safety Technology Fund shall be disbursed annually no later than the 15th of November of each year, expended only upon approval by the district attorney or his or her designee.
(d) The Public Safety Technology Fund will provide supplemental funding for any municipal or county law enforcement agency in Chilton County that employs a minimum of five full-time sworn law enforcement officers.
(e) The district attorney shall retain annually an administrative cost totaling 20 percent of the gross revenues of the fund for the preceding fiscal year. The district attorney shall retain 10 percent for the operation of his or her office, and he or she shall distribute the remaining 10 percent as follows: Five percent to the Chilton County Circuit Clerk's Office and five percent to be divided equally between all municipalities meeting the requirements in subsection (d) for the operation of each municipal court office.
(f) The Public Safety Technology Fund, less the 20 percent that is retained by the district attorney pursuant to subsection (e), shall be divided by the total number of full-time sworn law enforcement officers employed at each participating agency each year and that number of full-time officers shall be multiplied by the total number of gainfully employed sworn law enforcement officers at each authorized agency each year.
(g) The establishment of the Public Safety Technology Fund as provided in this section and the use of the funds shall in no way diminish or take the place of any other sources of income established for the chief of police, Director of Public Safety, or the sheriff for the operation of his or her office.
Last modified: May 3, 2021