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Clerk Handbooks
Municipal Clerk Manual – Courts without JIS



Section/Rule:
4.6

Subject:
Chapter 4 - Financial Procedures
Publication / Adopted Date:
July 2007

Topic:
Cost Simplification And Disbursement
Revised / Effective Date:
May 2017
Municipal Clerk Manual
Courts without JIS
Chapter 4 - Financial Procedures
Implementation of Cost Simplification


4.6- COST SIMPLIFICATION AND DISBURSEMENT

References
Statutes: N/A
Supreme Court Rules: N/A
Court Operating Rules: COR 21
Publication Date: August 1999
Revised: May 2017

INTRODUCTION

On December 18, 1998, the Supreme Court of Missouri adopted Court Operating Rule 21.03, entitled “Statewide Court Automation Case Management System,” and Court Operating Rule 21.05, entitled “Election to Comply with Court Operating Rule 21.03” to take effect on July 1, 1999. Court Operating Rule 21.03 provides for a SIMPLIFIED process of assessing, collecting and distributing court COSTS according to schedules (see schedules at the end of this section). The schedules provide consolidated amounts to be collected according to case type and percentages of these amounts to be disbursed. Fees, miscellaneous charges and surcharges not included in the consolidated amounts are to be disbursed according to a hierarchy.

Manual Courts Electing to Comply with COR 21.03

Courts not using the statewide Case Management system may, according to Court Operating Rule 21.05, opt to implement the cost simplification system by notifying the Office of State Courts Administrator 30 days prior to implementation.

Cost Simplification Explanation

What is Cost Simplification

Cost simplification replaces the current practice of collecting and accounting for a variety of costs. This plan combines, by case type, all standard costs to provide one aggregate base cost. The aggregate base costs are then disbursed to the various entities based on a percentage of total amounts collected. Costs that are not included in the aggregate base cost will still need to be collected and accounted for separately.

The cost simplification system may result in some funds receiving less and other funds receiving more monthly compared to the current distribution method. Overall, distribution to individual funds will not change significantly. The most significant distribution changes that will occur will be due mainly to allocation of partial payments where courts historically decided how to allocate the payment. Cost simplification will allocate the payments proportionally among all funds.

Advantages of Cost Simplification

1. The assessment of costs is reduced from six or more individual costs per case down to one standard cost and add-on costs.

2. The disbursement process is simplified by multiplying the total monthly collections of the one standard cost for each case type by a set percentage and distributing those amounts to the various entities (state, county, etc.).

3. This process eliminates the need to prorate collections on cases that are being paid in installments.

Clerk’s Duties/Procedures

Pegboard or Other Manual System

1. It is recommended that a court choosing to implement begin effective the 1st day of the month.

2. Begin assessing the court costs using the standard one cost amount and the “add on” costs.

3. For courts using a pegboard system, establish a column for the cost simplification standard one cost amount.

4. Establish a column for each of the “add on” costs assessed as these costs still need to be collected and accounted for separately.

5. Disburse the “add on” costs based upon the disbursement hierarchy established by the Supreme Court (see attached Schedules). After standard and “add on” costs are satisfied, amounts collected should be applied to judgments. This process allows entities to receive their funds timely and allows disbursement practices to be consistent statewide.

6. Multiply the monthly totals of each of the six standard cost columns by the applicable disbursement percentages to determine the amount to pay to each fund.

Automated System Other than JIS

For courts using an automated system, enhancements will need to be made to the computer program to enable the new disbursement method to be correctly executed. This will require standard costs to be aggregated based on the four case types and disbursed according to the set percentages as described above. The disbursement hierarchy will also need to be established within the computer program to correctly account for all “add on” costs.

Conversion to Cost Simplification

The cost simplification system may be implemented by applying the new cost structure to: a) all costs collected after a specific date; or b) all cases filed after a specific date.

Method A - Apply new cost structure to all costs collected after a specific date

This method allows all costs collected after the date of implementation to be distributed based upon the set percentage of total collections, regardless of whether it is a new case or a case filed prior to implementation. Amounts collected are applied first to the balance due of the one standard cost amount and then to the other costs due according to the hierarchy. At the end of the month, use the new percentages to disburse the costs included in the one cost amount.

Method B - Apply new cost structure to all cases filed after a specific date

This method requires courts to maintain two accounting systems simultaneously. One system accounts for collections received on new cases filed after the implementation date. These collections are accounted for and distributed based upon the new simplified cost plan described above. The other system accounts for collections received on cases filed prior to the implementation date. Any collections for these cases are accounted for and distributed according to the old method. Maintain the cases filed under the old system separate from cases filed under the new system to reduce the possibility of errors occurring when distributing collections. The two different systems must be maintained until the majority of the amounts for cases filed prior to implementation have been received and disbursed.

Schedule of Costs (Municipal Division): See Court Operating Rule 21.03a