Prior to announcing her plans to run for reelection, Greene County Circuit Court Clerk Whitney Collins addressed the Republican Women Thursday on the activities of her office and the thirteen employees who assist her.
Accompanied by Chief Deputy Circuit Court Clerk Braiden King, Collins broke down the numbers as they relate to the various courts the office oversees, whether it be criminal or civil.
Outside of the scheduling of the various courts , a project Collins began early in her first term relates to recovery of delinquent fines and costs. At that time, as far as the computer records are concerned, there were over $27 million dollars in such unpaid costs. In 2021, a statute was passed allowing for collection of such money. So far she says, over $2.5 million has been recovered. Half of that amount, or just over one point two million dollars, has gone to the county general fund, the other half goes to the agencies for which it was originally intended. While the amount due is now down to around $25 million, the Circuit Court Clerk’s office, rather than hiring an outside firm , continues the daily effort internally to recover the remaining amount.
