LAWRENCE COUNTY, Mo. (KY3) – In the upcoming November election, Missouri voters will consider whether court costs should be used to fund the retirement of sheriffs and prosecutors.
Lawrence County Sheriff Brad DeLay hopes to retire soon. The end of this year will be his last term, but he says the future of superannuation could be up in the air.
“One of the benefits of any job is preferably a retirement plan or benefits that come with it,” said Sheriff DeLay.
Next month, residents across Missouri will vote on whether to allow sheriffs and prosecutors’ retirement benefits to be covered by court costs.
If Amendment 6 were to pass, these fees would be up to $7 per guilty plea or conviction.
“Perhaps the most significant influence today is the sheriffs who retired surviving spouses who were in the system in 1983,” said Sheriff DeLay.
The fees were first established by state law in the 1980s, but in 2021 the Missouri Supreme Court ruled that using the fees to pay prosecutors and sheriffs’ salaries is unconstitutional. Some still agree.
“Instead of saying you can’t put a price on access to the courts, there is now a price,” said Lauren Bonds, executive director of the National Police Accountability Project.
The organization opposes the voting system. He says if Amendment 6 passes, it will come at the expense of Missourians.
A “yes” vote would amend the Missouri Constitution to support pay and benefits for current and former sheriffs, prosecutors, and circuit attorneys to ensure all Missourians have access to the courts of justice. Costs and fees will be collected.
A “no” vote would not amend the Missouri Constitution to impose costs and fees associated with current or former sheriffs, prosecutors, and circuit attorneys.
“When you add in this additional fee, whether it’s 3% or whatever percentage, it can be a significant amount for people who are in poverty, and then where does that money go? , that could potentially create a reason for various actors in the criminal legal system to send more people to court,” Bonds explained.
But Sheriff DeLay objects that that is impossible.
“No, it’s not, because the judge still has the power to decide whether or not to actually evaluate it,” he said.
Since the beginning of this year, sheriffs have been paying 5% of their salaries into a retirement fund, but the fund has been shrinking over the years.
“If this amendment is not passed, the retirement system will be completely insolvent in about nine years,” DeLay said.
But Bonds insists there must be another way to raise money.
she says: “Taxation could be a way to generate revenue other than fees, other than fees associated with something that is not a constitutional right, and other than the court costs system.”
But DeLay said, “Everyone hates taxes. You know, it seems like we’re already overburdened.”
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