Fine Assessment Overview

The Fine Assessment feature of ACS Contexte enables your jurisdiction to establish rules that ACS Contexte uses to automatically calculate fines and fees when a violation is filed. Fines/fees are classified as either pre-disposition or post-disposition. Pre-disposition fees are not considered receivables. Most pre-disposition fines/fees can be adjusted prior to disposition; all post-disposition fines/fees can be adjusted after disposition. More about adjusting fines/fees

How the fine assessment feature works

1. Using the Uniform Bail/Penalty Schedule Rule form (CTRUBPS), the person setting up your system defines rules associating violations with detail codes and fine amounts. Each rule has an effective date range. If the violation is a traffic violation, codes and amounts can be defined based on:

• where a violation occurred (such as in a safety zone);

• how much over the speed limit a defendant was going;and

• how much over legal limits a defendant's vehicle weighed.

Rules for bail calculation are also established on CTRUBPS, as are minimum and maximum fine/fee amounts for violations.

2. You file a case and enter a violation, including details such as where it occurred and overage amounts for speeding and weight violations. The system checks if the violation is part of a rule defined on CTRUBPS. If it is, the system calculates fines/fees based on the rule.

Viewing and adjusting fines/fees

Use the Uniform Bail/Penalty Schedule form (CBAUBPS) to view and adjust both pre-disposition and post-disposition fines/fees (including adjustments), as well as fines/fees associated with the violation on either the Violation/Fine Rules form (CTRCFIN) or the Case/Party Account Detail form (CBAACCD). You can enter a case and party ID to view violations, total amounts, and the details on each charge. You can increase fines/fees. However, fines/fees may be defined on CTRDETC as ineligible for decrease until all other fines/ fees are reduced to zero. In that case, you must zero out all other fees first.

Once a violation is disposed, any fines/fees become receivables and can be seen on other ACS Contexte forms.

Viewing the distribution of fines/fees

Use the Violation Fees General Ledger Inquiry form (CAIVFGL) to view the distribution of all payments to fines/fees after the Accounting Feed Process has been run. You can query by case ID or receipt number. If authorized to do so, you can open the GL Transactions form (CAAMENT) from this form in order to adjust the general ledger.