(A) The County Prosecuting Attorney may establish a Bad Check Collection Program through the office of the Prosecuting Attorney whereby any person who is the payee or holder of a bad check and who intends to prosecute the issuer of the bad check if such check is not made good after first presenting the check to the bank and then contacting the issuer in writing, and giving the issuer ten days to make restitution, may:
(1) Authorize the Prosecuting Attorney to contact the issuer of the bad check to determine if such person wishes and intends to make the check good in accordance with state law in lieu of suffering prosecution;
(2) Authorize the Prosecuting Attorney to collect, on behalf of the payee or holder of the bad check, a protest fee per check, and on behalf of the Prosecuting Attorney’s office, a service fee per check in an amount not to exceed the maximum amount authorized by state law;
(3) Authorize the Prosecuting Attorney to retain all protest fees for return to the payee or holder of the bad check, and all service fees collected by the Prosecuting Attorney for the Prosecuting Attorney’s office pursuant to division (A)(3) above in consideration of the services provided to the payee or holder by the Prosecuting Attorney; and
(4) The Prosecuting Attorney may waive the collection of the fee if he or she 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 Prosecuting Attorney 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 service fees collected pursuant to division (A) above shall be regularly delivered to the County Treasurer, not less than monthly, in the manner of fees collected by county officers, for deposit in the Prosecutor’s Special Fee Fund. The Prosecutor’s Special Fee Fund is to be a line item in the County General Fund, so that the special fees are actually deposited into the County General Fund for use, as set out in this section.
(Ord. 2010-01, passed 2-1-2010)