(A) The County Prosecutor may establish a bad check collection program through the office of the Prosecutor whereby any person who is the payee or holder of a bad check and who intends to prosecute the issuer of the bad check under I.C. 35-43-5-5 if such check is not made good may:
(1) Authorize the Prosecutor to contact the issuer of the bad check to determine if such person wishes and intends to make the check good in accordance with I.C. 35-43-5-5(e) in lieu of suffering prosecution;
(2) Authorize the Prosecutor to collect, on behalf of the payee or holder of the bad check, a protest and service fee in such amount as the Prosecutor may stipulate and fix on a uniform bases (which may be a fixed dollar amount or a percentage of the value of the bad check), but which may not exceed the amount permitted under I.C.35-43-5-5(e);
(3) Authorize the Prosecutor to retain all protest and services collected by the Prosecutor pursuant to division (A)(2) above in consideration of the services provided to the payee or holder by the Prosecutor; and
(4) The Prosecutor may waive the collection of the fee if the Prosecutor finds that probable cause for prosecution no longer exists.
(B) Upon implementation of the bad check collection program, as authorized by division (A) above, the Prosecutor may establish and maintain a trust checking account into which shall be deposited the principal amount of any bad check along with all other fees collected from the issuer thereof. Checks from such account may be written to the payee or holder of the bad check to whom the money is lawfully due without appropriation. All fees not distributed to the merchants collected pursuant to division (A) above shall be regularly delivered to the County Auditor, not less than quarterly, in the manner of fees collected by county officers, for deposit in the County General Fund.
(C) Funds so received by the county may be expended by the Prosecuting Attorney only by following the budget appropriation and claim procedure. Funds collected through imposition of a bad check service charge may not be disbursed from the bad check account for the direct payment of the Prosecuting Attorney’s office expenses without proper appropriation. Such funds may only become available for this purpose upon appropriation by the County Council from the County General Fund into a line in the Prosecuting Attorney’s budget.
(D) This section shall be in full force and effect from and after the date of adoption.
(Ord. 2000-8, passed 12-11-2000)