DeKalb ticket crackdown brings in $1.6 million
A crackdown on outstanding traffic tickets in DeKalb County has already generated $1.6 million.
DeKalb’s Recorders Court offered amnesty to drivers during April to help reduce a backlog of 500,000 outstanding citations stemming from the past 10 years.
“We did have lines that curled almost to [Interstate] 285,” Chief Judge Nelly Withers told county commissioners Tuesday. “We closed out 8,000-10,000 cases.”
Ticket-holders who were still waiting in line Friday at 5 p.m. when the court closed were given letters that allowed them to return to court this week and get the discounted rate. They have until Friday to pay their fine, Withers said.
Starting next week, the court will begin issuing warrants and suspending drivers’ licenses for the remaining drivers who did not pay their tickets.
The backlog arose because court personnel did not issue warrants for about 10 years, costing the county more than $20 million, Withers said.
